DarkFoxKit: Okay guys, looks like I'll be alone in the ANs today, so- *was suddenly trampled on by a certain Wooper*
Donfyre: HIIIIIIIIYA, FOX! c:
DarkFoxKit: …. Get… off… of… ME! *pushes Fyre off* What are you doing here? I thought you were too tired to come on!
Donfyre: Eh heh heh… my current circumstance lets me. Namely... modifying space-time and stuff. :P
DarkFoxKit: … As in Determination and Save points? -_-'
Donfyre: … Sure! Let's put it that way! :P Aw, what's wroooong? You don't seem happy to see me! DX
DarkFoxKit: *Pounces on Fyre* On the contrary, I'm VERY happy to see you. *nibbles on his antenna*
Donfyre: WAH! O-okay then. Interesting way to show that you are… ^^;
DarkFoxKit: By the way readers, this is probably gonna be one of the longest chapters we've put into the story. Most of Parts 3, 4 and 5 will have these incredibly long chapters, but we will give you guys a choice; do you want these longer chapters? Or would you prefer it if we split them so it'd be easier to read? Of course if we do split them, there's a good chance you might have to wait a little longer for more chapters.
Donfyre: Kind of a pick-your-poison kind of thing. Really long chapters or more breathable chapters, albeit with shorter chapters you'll have to wait longer.
DarkFoxKit: And if we do give longer chapters, then we may wait two weeks to upload another since they're chapters long enough to give us a two week break from uploading. I think that's fair, don't you?
Donfyre: Oh, then I guess you guys might still have to wait a while if we post a really long chapter. But it's fair for us! XP
DarkFoxKit: *climbs on top of Fyre* And this is a Lucas chapter, which shows what Lucas was doing while Claus went off to Thunder Tower.
Donfyre: Yeah. So just imagine the clock winded back a little while you read this chapter. *gently pushes Fox off* :P
DarkFoxKit: *pounces Fyre down and pins him to the ground* Okay, and I think that's it for now. Fyre here has to go now, so I'll answer the reviews alone again, but hopefully he'll be able to answer them again next week! c:
Donfyre: You keep tackling me! DX *squirms under her* But yeah, I have to go… I can't disappear from my own timeline for very long! XP But I should hopefully be able to answer them with Fox here next week. Now, see all of yas! Have fuuuun, Fox! :P *disappears with a POOF from below her*
DarkFoxKit: ... Weh! Alright fine, time for me to do my thing. *puts on reading glasses and looks at the list of reviews* AHEM!
FanofFiction123: You'll learn to love the cliffhangers. :3
Heh, well Claus does seem to be that type of guy once he's become a commander regardless of his age, don't you think?
Yeah, but I don't plan on using the save frogs a lot, keeps it from destroying the tension.
Shimo no ko: Really? I suppose the save frogs are a bit more convenient that the phones you use at the hotels, especially when you're far from a town. And your question if Lucas pulled the Needle will be answered in this long chapter. Ah, so that's what you mean, well don't worry; Thunder Tower didn't strike the house. Heh, it'll be more than just awkward, and as for the cliffhangers... heh, sorry, they're going to be a little more common in this arc! c:
UM: Nice name. ;P And yes, a Needle did get pulled, and it'll be answered by whom in this chapter.
Connor the speling pro: But cheesy isn't always bad. And yes, I'm very much aware doing something like that is generally a bad idea, which is why I don't plan on using it much, if at all, later on, but I did want people to see how I interpret save frogs. And it's only really necessary in this situation.
No, the Magypsies are not working for the renegades, but of course this doesn't become clear as to why they listened to the black Pigmask until this chapter.
I didn't think using general words were a bad thing, especially since it gets its point across.
And Claus meant when the ice melts, guess I didn't make that really clear, my bad.
CalmTheHydreigon: You know, for your name, you're not very calm. ^^' But glad to see you're so excited that you glitched the review box.
FlameEyeGamer: Heh, hey no worries, it was still nice of you to show us the anagram in case we didn't know it. Yeah, Nintendo's pretty cool with that, and Ninten DID come from a very early era so we can let that one slide. Donfyre and I thank you for your kind words and happy that you enjoy it so much! As for the cameras... let's just in a world of imagination you can have infinite stock of anything. ;)
Guest: Neither of the brothers can stay out of trouble it seems. ^^'
Orangeflight of ShadowClan: But being a good kid comes with a price.
Undertale is a unique made RPG, but if you want more details I suggest you look up non-spoiler reviews on Youtube. It's hard to really talk about it without footage or spoiling it.
Yeah, there's always that paranoid feeling that somethings going to go wrong in the elevators, so if I could help it I rather take the stairs, they're good for exercising anyways.
The Whatevers were sure... interesting. I didn't know why they had so much affection for the commander (or Lucas, I'm not sure which they like) but it's pretty cute and I had to put it in there. XD
Heh, even Claus thought it was pretty funny that a huge guy like Pork Trooper was cowering to a barely 13 year old, but hey, if a kid with a red eye and a mechanical arm that can transform into a cannon and can use psychic powers, wouldn't you be intimidated too?
Erm... you may have forgotten, but Lucas already knows PK Flash, he used it in his battle against the Mecha Drago in chapter 3, remember? Though to be honest I don't really use it much, from both the game and the story.
Yup, that's Li'l Miss Marshmallow for ya. ;P
I did at least want to show how I interpret the save frogs from the game, and I figured this was the perfect way to do it, but don't expect me to use them much in this story as it would ruin the tension. And chopped carrots... I get it. XD
The battle scene was pretty fun to write too, especially with the right type of music to motivate us. And Claus did mean when the ice melts, but I didn't make that clear so I apologize for that.
The black Pigmask is going to be a rather interesting character as the story progresses, and he only managed to kill Claus because Claus was tired and injured from fighting the Generator, remember he doesn't have any healing PSI like his brother does. And because Claus was fresh when he faced the black Pigmask again, that's why he disappeared.
As for how the black Pigmask disappeared, let's just say he has certain powers.
Who else could've pulled the Needle? Ah well, this chapter will answer that.
We had to write them late due to Fyre's schedule, but this is why we're changing it to Saturday now and try to answer any reviews we get on Sundays if we can. And I've graduated from school, so it's not a problem for me, but Fyre on the other hand...
Flint IS a determined guy.
You guessed right, their birthday is the last peaceful day they had together.
I have a lot of doubt myself, so I can understand that. And yeah, it's easy to see why Lucas would be doubtful.
It's amazing how easy it is to miss the obvious if you think it's impossible, but it is how it is. And of course I wouldn't strike down their house.
I'd love to see this in game format too! ^^
No, Claus doesn't get a new bracelet, he kinda doesn't have time to right now. And I won't say if Lucas finds out Claus has PSI sometime soon or not, you'll just have to wait. ;P
It's why I play Okami; you play as an awesome white wolf and can roam in a 3D environment, it's awesome! But wait... I've heard of Warriors the book but I didn't know there was an RPG of it! That would be so AWESOME! I love playing as animals, but I don't see a lot of games that let you play as animals.
Oh well, at least we did get to see Lucas saving Ness in Smash 4, that was a really sweet trailer.
I guess it's the same for me too, how I got into the Mother series. I just one day decided to try out Earthbound from the eShop and I've been hooked ever since.
Oh? I'm surprised you told us your age through review since it's kinda public. But don't worry, we won't treat you like that because of your age. :)
Thank you for your review and support! I look forward to hearing from you again soon and so does Donfyre!
Chapter 21: The First Needle
Lucas woke up later that night, he felt uneasy for some reason. "Claus… can we- Claus?" The blond haired boy frowned when he saw Claus's bed was empty. Worried now, Lucas sat up and tried to feel for his brother's aura, but he was nowhere in the house. "Claus… where'd you go…?" Lucas knew Claus couldn't have possibly left for work already since he's supposed to go there in the morning.
Lucas opened the door and was surprised to see Flint was there. "Lucas? What's wrong? I heard you calling out for Claus."
"He's gone, Dad! I-I don't know where he went!" Lucas frowned, looking rather frantic.
"... Was he kidnapped again? It isn't like Claus to just leave without warning..." Flint frowned as he tilted his hat. "You better get Boney and try to find him. I'll wait for him at home just in case he comes back."
"Okay, Boney and I will try to find him." Lucas said as he hurried outside, worried someone might've kidnapped his brother like that ninja girl tried to do a couple of years ago.
The blond haired 13 year old boy opened the door and saw Boney was already awake and was looking rather confused about something. "Boney! I'm glad you're up. Did you see anything happen to Claus?"
The dog looked at Lucas and gave a small yip. "Yeah, Claus came out earlier. He said he couldn't sleep and wanted to go for a walk. But I could've sworn he was answering back to me… and to a comment I said about his hair earlier. Are you sure he doesn't have PSI?"
"He what?" Lucas blinked at that. "... Uh… no, never mind that now. We need to go find him, Boney!"
"Claus told me to tell you not to worry about him! That he'll be back soon." Boney barked as Lucas was already running into town. The dog sighed as he hurried after the frantic 13 year old boy.
"Lucas, didn't you hear me? Claus said he was just going for a walk, you don't have to worry about him!" Boney insisted as he was following Lucas.
"Well I am worried! I want to make sure Claus is safe." Lucas said to the dog. "Can you smell his scent? Where was he walking?"
Boney gave a small whine before he began sniffing the ground. "Alright, he went this way."
Lucas followed the brown dog through the village until they came up to the graveyard. "What? Why would Claus go to the grave-" he stopped when he saw rotting corpse scattered all over the place, as if someone just bombed the bodies.
"What the…? What happened here?" Lucas said. A thousand images began playing in his mind about what could have happened to Claus. If he really was here… how did all these corpses get here too?!
Boney whimpered at the sight and smell. "I don't like the scent here… it smells like rotting flesh and smoke…"
"Claus did tell us that there were zombies here… but I didn't think it was possible for the dead to come back to life." Lucas frowned as he looked around. "Why would Claus come back here?"
"I don't know, but his scent ends here." Boney said as he stood over a gravestone that looked quite different from the other gravestones.
"Here…?" Lucas asked, walking over and examining the gravestone. He feared the worst for Claus. "W-why would it end here? H-he can't be…"
"Oh relax, Lucas, I doubt Claus would be buried that quickly. I think I can feel a breeze here." Boney said when he noticed his worry. He was sniffing profoundly at an area of the gravestone that seemed oddly… loose.
Lucas's hopes went up, and he tried pushing the gravestone. It slide nicely, revealing a passageway that Lucas didn't know even existed in the graveyard… or that there was even a secret passageway in Tazmily in the first place. Everyone in the town usually knew of everything, at least… before the Pigmasks.
When Lucas pushed the gravestone that was when he noticed a tunnel down below and a ladder. "Wow…"
"I smell more of Claus's scent. He definitely went through here." Boney yipped.
"This must lead to the Pigmask base. But why would Claus go there at this time of night?" Lucas wondered before he began climbing down the ladder.
"He just said he wanted to go for a stroll. Bombing through zombies and coming down here seems more than just a stroll to me." The dog huffed as he followed Lucas down the ladder with his paws.
Once they reached the ground, Lucas and Boney were surprised there was a whole underground place. "Which way did Claus went?"
"I don't know… his scent just disappeared." Boney whined.
"Then which way should we-" Lucas began to ask when a strange giant pink ball with a pig-like snout suddenly flew at them and parked, surprising the boy and the dog. "What the!?"
A door slide open from the strange vehicle, and a Pigmask came out. Lucas and Boney watched silently as the Pigmask seem to be checking something on a clipboard.
"... no good at all…" Lucas and Boney heard the Pigmask say, twiddling a pen in one hand. "We were sure the security in Thunder Tower was secure, how could…?"
"Lucas!" Boney scratched at Lucas's leg with one paw, grabbing his attention. "That big pink pig ball has Claus's scent inside! It's very strong!"
In there? Lucas thought to himself, frowning. What was he doing in that? Isn't he just a waterboy or something?
Lucas and Boney slowly snuck past the distracted Pigmask as they boarded onto the strange pink pig vehicle. They looked around and noticed the advanced controls on the thing. Lucas looked at it curiously before touching a button, causing the door to close. The Pigmask outside turned when he heard the door shutting and squealed a bit. Lucas pushed another button and felt the vehicle moving a bit.
"Lucas, what are you doing?" Boney asked when he saw the boy messing with the controls.
"I'm trying to see if this thing has a video that shows where Claus went or something." Lucas said as he began pulling a switch.
"Lucas we don't know what this thing is! Don't-" The vehicle suddenly took off with such velocity that it threw both Boney and Lucas into the wall.
The Pigmask yelped and squealed loudly when the vehicle took off down the tunnel.
"Lucas! Didn't your Dad teach you!? Don't touch what you don't understand!" Boney barked with a scolding tone at the boy.
"I- s-sorry! But we have to find Claus!" Lucas shouted over the barking dog. He let his hands go of the controls, halting the vehicle to a sudden stop and promptly propelling the boy and the dog forward. "Oof! … T-this must be one of those driving things that the Pigmasks introduced. I… think they're easy to use, I saw a frog driving one before…" Lucas scratched his head, hovering his other hand over the other complicated controls of the vehicle.
Boney was looking at Lucas nervously, not feeling very safe letting the confused boy take over the controls here. "You really will be the death of me, Lucas…"
"Hey, this isn't so bad! I just have to… check what each button or switch does, it'll be easy once I figure that out." Lucas said, sounding a little unsure himself.
The boy moved the switch a little bit, "O-okay, so this switch made it go… I guess it depends on how far it's pulled with how fast it goes." The vehicle began moving a bit more slowly. "See, this isn't so bad Boney. We'll find Claus in no time! All we gotta do is follow where the tunnel leads."
"Um…" Boney and Lucas both stopped when they saw there were several diverting roads up ahead. "Right… which tunnel leads to the base that Claus always goes to?"
"I-I don't know… there are too many choices!" Lucas bit his lip as he looked back down at the controls. "Maybe there's something here that can show us? Like a map or something?" Lucas pushed a few buttons and the vehicle began moving up and down. "O-okay that's not it… maybe this one?" This caused the ball to suddenly began gyroiding around.
"Lucaaaaas!" Boney howled as the two rolled and flipped around in the vehicle. "Make this STOOOOP!"
"I-I'm trying!" Lucas called back frantically. Unfortunately… it isn't exactly easy to grab for a button when you're being propelled and rolled around in the air. Both Lucas and Boney continued to roll around within the vehicle, not being able to stop themselves.
They felt something begin shaking as if the vehicle hit something hard. Then alarms began blaring inside as a computer voice spoke up. "WARNING! YOUR VEHICLE IS OUT OF CONTROL! WARNING! MUST EJECT IMMEDIATELY! WARNING! CRASH IS IMMINENT!"
"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Boney howled loudly as he and Lucas grabbed each other.
Lucas shut his eyes as he created a shield around them as the vehicle kept spinning out of control until… CRASH! Lucas found himself flipping in the air and hit the ground along with something brown beside him, which he assumed to be Boney, and the two were rolling a bit before they finally stopped in something… soft yet firm.
"Ow…" Lucas groaned as he held his spinning head.
"That is IT! No more driving for you!" The boy heard Boney whimpering from beside him. The shield help kept them from getting hurt in the crash, but it didn't stop them from feeling sick with all the flips and spinning.
"Sorry Boney…" Lucas groaned as he tried to get his head together after the crash and tried to see where they are. "Where did we end up?"
"We're… somewhere outside I've gathered… and… I smell the strong scent of clay." Boney barked.
Lucas blinked his eyes as his mind adjusted from that crazy crash, and he could see he and Boney have landed in mashed clay, most likely made for future Claymen. The boy looked over at a building not too far from them, and a few Pigmasks were talking among each other. "Did we come to the right place?"
"I don't know. I can't smell Claus's scent anymore." Boney whined.
"Well… maybe all this clay is making it hard for you to smell him." Lucas suggested. "I mean there are Pigmasks here, so maybe this is their base. I've never really explored too much outside of Tazmily before other than that time we went to the factory and Club Titiboo… so I guess this is as good as place as any to look."
Lucas and Boney stood up and began wiping the clay off them, but it only caused it to smidge. Lucas frowned, he liked being clean and now his shirt is ruined. "It's going to take days to get this stuff out of my shirt…"
"So how are we going to get in if this is their base? I don't think they'll just let anyone in, least of all a little kid and his dog. Heck we had a hard time just entering that stupid club!" Boney grumbled as he tried to scrub his fur with his paw.
"Maybe if we ask real nicely-" Lucas began to say when Boney cut him off.
"That isn't going to work with well-trained soldiers!" The dog huffed.
"Then we'll just ask if Claus is here." Lucas sighed.
"He's the waterboy to them! I doubt they even know his name!" The dog said with a roll of his eyes.
"You are just too negative." Lucas sighed as the two approached the three Pigmasks chatting.
"That hook is for bags and umbrellas, not your mask!" One of them argued.
"Oh, I thought it was for masks, no wonder it was so hard to hang mine there." Another said.
Then one of them noticed Lucas and Boney walking up, "Hey, who are you? What are you doing here? Don't you know it's way past your bedtime, kid?"
"I-I know… but I came here to find someone." Lucas said as he walked closer.
Suddenly one of the Pigmasks jumped and looked nervous. "A-ah, h-he's...!"
The Pigmask suddenly ran to the other side of the wall and the other two jumped and began saluting. Lucas and Boney both blinked and looked at them in confusion.
"C-Commander sir! W-we weren't expecting you until morning!" One of the Pigmasks said nervously and with as much respect as possible, which felt odd for Lucas.
"What…?" Did he just call me… 'Commander'? Lucas thought to himself in confusion.
"Wait, these guys thinks you're their Commander? … They do know you're only a 13 year old kid, right?" Boney was just as confused as Lucas was.
A blue Pigmask came out of the door and said, "What's all the ruckus?" then he noticed Lucas and the lower Pigmasks' behavior. "... O-oh! Commander sir! I thought you'd be asleep right now…" Then he studied Lucas's hair and messy clothes. "I love what you did with your hair, sir, the blond looks good on you. But you really shouldn't wear such a shabby and messy outfit, it'll set a bad example with the soldiers."
"Uh…?" Lucas was still confused on how they could think he's their Commander. He's only seen the Commander himself a few times and they did appear to be the same size, but apparently that face hidden under the helmet looked very similar to his own, which must've been awkward for Claus since he works for the Commander.
"Come on now, you better get yourself cleaned up. We have your spare uniforms in the back just in case you'd needed it." The blue Pigmask said to him.
"O-oh, right, uh thanks." Lucas said, trying not to sound too awkward.
"Come with me, young Commander. I guess they sent you here due to the malfunction at Thunder Tower, so let's not delay." The blue Pigmask said as he gestured Lucas to follow him.
"Um, you're just going to go along with this?" Boney asked as he followed Lucas, who's following the blue Pigmask.
"Well if they think I'm their Commander maybe they can lead me to where Claus is." Lucas whispered to the dog.
"And what will you do if we run into the real Commander?" Boney asked.
"We'll worry about that if we come to it." Lucas whispered back.
"Commander… normally you don't bring your pet with you, but I guess it's not that big of a deal. I'm just surprised really." The blue Pigmask said as he lead them through the place, which looked like another Clayman factory to Lucas.
Soon they were lead to a door and the blue Pigmask open it for him. "Here is the changing room sir, you can take a shower or bathe in a hot spring if that's more your style. Just be sure to change into your uniform so you can do what you need to do, Commander. And be sure to give a mask to your pet at least, so the soldiers don't mistake him for a lost stray."
"Okay, thank you, this will do just fine." Lucas said with a smile.
"You're always so polite Commander." The blue Pigmask spoke with a pleasant tone.
And with that, Lucas and Boney walked into the changing room, where it was much roomier than he expected it to be. Boney walked over to a small pool filled with nice hot water and dipped himself into it. "Ahhhh, I'm so glad they have a hot spring here."
Lucas chuckled as he walked over and slipped in himself. "I guess it couldn't hurt to relax a bit and wash off the clay. But let's not take too long… I don't want the real Commander to find out I've been impersonating him, and we still need to find Claus."
"Yeah, yeah, but let's just relax now." The dog gave a small but satisfying whine.
After about 15 minutes, Lucas decided it was long enough, he didn't have a lot of time to relax. He got out of the hot spring pool and looked around for the uniform the blue Pigmask kept telling him to wear. "Ah… this must be it."
The 13 year old boy took out a familiar looking black zipper jacket with faux fur at the collar, orange pants, a black belt with a golden buckle, gray gloves and black boots. Lucas put it over his clothes and looked at himself in the mirror. "You know… it's scary how much like the Commander I look in this. All that's missing is the helmet and that weird box thing he has on his back."
Boney wagged his tail as he looked at Lucas. "I personally think you look more professional in that, maybe you should keep it."
"No Boney, this is temporary until we can find Claus." Lucas lightly scolded. "Maybe if they think I'm the Commander they'll let me in their base."
"Will they let a dog in too?" Boney asked.
"Hmm… well that blue Pigmask did say you should wear a mask." Lucas said as he picked up a small yellow Pigmask mask, though he had never seen a yellow Pigmask, renegade or not.
When Lucas put the yellow mask over Boney's face, the dog began to whimper and whine. "Ugh! It stinks in here! How do these guys breathe out of these things!?"
"Just try to get used to it, Boney. We're going to need them to think we're one of them if we hope to find my brother, okay?" Lucas said as Boney just grumbled. "Okay, now let's see if we can find someone to help us."
The two of them walked around the factory, letting Lucas examine where exactly they were. There were a lot of those large-walking clay figures - Clayman, he thinks they were called - walking around. "This does look like another one of those Clayman factories like the one near the train tracks…"
Boney whimpered when Lucas referenced that. "That place? They're not gonna make me run in another wheel for hours, are they? I just wanted to sleep by the time they finally let me out!"
Lucas rolled his eyes. "I think you'll be fine, Boney. Maybe because they think I'm the commander they'll let you stay with me. But if this is just another factory… I don't know if Claus might be here or wherever the Pigmask's base really is…"
"Well since you're the supposed commander here, why not just ask one of these guys to take you to the base?" Boney asked him.
"Because they'll find it suspicious that I would want to go back there, especially since I just apparently got here. That blue Pigmask said something was going on at… Thunder Tower?" Lucas had no idea what the heck that was, but he's guessing that might be where the real commander is. "Which means we should probably stay away from that place and try to find Claus on our own."
"Uh-huh, and how will we do that? You can't drive, you'll just make us crash again." The dog groaned as he remembered that crash.
"I think I could figure it out…" Lucas said and Boney looked like he was about to retort to that when they accidentally bumped into a Pigmask. "Oof! O-oh, I'm so sorry about that! I was distracted!"
The Pigmask was looking at Lucas before he said, "... L-Lucas? You're the Pigmask Commander!?"
Lucas wasn't sure how to react, he thought the voice sounded familiar, but… "O-oh, well I- … I-I mean," Lucas cleared his throat and tried to sound a little gruff, "y-yes, this is the Commander speaking to you… I-is there something you need?"
"... Could you follow me then… Commander?" the Pigmask said, walking off towards an area that didn't have many Pigmasks in it. Lucas looked back at Boney nervously.
"He smells familiar…. Like someone that's been with you only a few times." Boney just replied, looking at the Pigmask too.
When the Pigmask lead them to a corner, he looked around before taking off his mask. Lucas's eyes widen and he smiled when he saw the familiar face. "Duster! … Wait, Duster? You're working for the Pigmasks too?"
"... So I'm going to take it that you're not really the Commander, right?" Duster asked Lucas, sounding cautious.
"... Uh… that depends…" Lucas said, being cautious himself. "What are you doing here, Duster?"
Duster checked again to make sure no one was looking, before whispering to Lucas, "I'm here spying on the Pigmasks, like what I did back at Club Titiboo. But… I'd like to know what you're doing here, I don't want to think you've been the Commander this entire time."
"N-no, that's not it!" Lucas quickly said. He looked around seeing a Pigmask was a little close to the three of them, but he didn't seem to notice. The boy turned back to Duster. "These Pigmasks thought I was their Commander or something… I don't know why, but it works for me since I want to be able to find Claus disguised as the Commander. He just disappeared in the middle of the night…" he explained, frowning. "I'm worried about what might've happened to him."
"Ah, well that's a relief." Duster said. "Oh, not that your brother disappeared, it's just a relief to know you're not actually the Commander. Kumatora would probably kill you." he gave a nervous chuckle as did Lucas.
"Y-yeah…" Lucas cleared his throat. "Oh hey, Duster, do you know how to drive those weird, pig ball driving things?"
"They showed me the basics on how to drive it when I was in disguise, why?" Duster asked.
"I want to use it to help find Claus. Maybe you could lead us to their base!" Lucas smiled.
"I wish I could, but I don't even know where their base is." Duster sighed. "I've only been in disguise for a week but they never let us leave here."
"Oh… well then can you just drive us around? We're bound to find their base or at least Claus sooner or later, right?" Lucas suggested as Boney just sat there quietly.
"Well… I guess I could drive around this area, as long as I don't go out too far…" Duster said. He still sounded a little unsure and scratched his head.
"Great! Sooo… how can we get you to leave?" Lucas asked, for a moment letting the current position he was in slip from his mind. Duster glanced at the uniform adorned on Lucas's body.
Boney was just sticking his masked nose on Lucas's outfit and gave a small huff before Lucas blinked at them and looked down at his outfit before a light bulb went off in his brain. "O-oh… right, I'm the Commander."
"Just act like you belong here and say you need me to escort you to Thunder Tower or something and we should be good to go." Duster said as he put his pig helmet back on over his head.
"O-okay… that shouldn't be too hard to do… let's find that pig driving thing." Lucas said nervously.
"Actually Lucas, it's called a 'Pork Bean'." Duster corrected.
"... Oh… that's an interesting name." Lucas said before shaking his head. "Do you know where we can get one?"
"Yeah, they mostly keep them parked near the back of the factory since the highway is out there and it'd be crazy to walk everywhere." Duster told him.
"Just as long as it's being driven by someone who knows what they're doing, I'm fine with it. If it's just Lucas again I rather walk." Boney commented even though Duster couldn't understand him.
"H-hey! I'm sure I could've figured it out, Boney." Lucas frowned.
"What happened before?" Duster asked.
"I… uh… crashed a Pork Bean." Lucas admitted, blushing from embarrassment.
Duster tried hard to hide a chuckle. "Well I guess it's complicated if you don't know anything about a standard vehicle."
"Hey, where are you going?" A blue Pigmask asked.
"Oh Captain sir, the Commander here is asking me to escort him to Thunder Tower and see what the problem is." Duster quickly said as he saluted.
"Oh, if the Commander says so then carry on." The blue Pigmask said as he walked off with no problem.
"Wow… I guess I never knew how much of a rank a Commander really was." Lucas said as they continued walking.
"Well by Pigmask standards, each color have its own rank. Pink being the lowest. Yellows are- strangely enough- reserve for animals or rather pets to a Pigmask." Duster explained.
"Oh, that's why I never saw a yellow Pigmask before." Lucas said with a nod.
Duster continued his explanation. "A blue Pigmask is a higher rank than pink, they are the Captain rank. Then it goes to green, where they are of the Major rank. And the more rare are the white Pigmasks, they are of the Colonel rank. After them would be the black and orange Commander rank, and I guess anyone higher would be the main Master of them all."
"Wow. I never knew the color had their own ranks." Lucas said as he looked around the factory, seeing mostly the pink Pigmasks and the Pigmask Captains here.
Duster soon lead the boy and the dog outside where they saw a few Pork Beans. "Ah, here we are. We'll just take one of the Pork Beans and look around for your brother for a bit."
"Alright, hopefully it shouldn't take too long." Lucas said as he looked up at the night sky. "I wonder if he's tired? We've never stayed up this late at night before."
"The night is still somewhat young, so we've got time to search for him." Duster said as he pushed a button outside and a door slide open. "After you, 'Commander'."
Lucas gave a humor chuckle as he stepped into the Pork Bean and Boney soon followed him. When Duster sat down at the controls, he pushed a button to shut the door. "Alright, have a seat you two, I'll start driving."
"Please don't crash this thing!" Boney barked.
"I hope you'll have better luck at driving it than I did." Lucas chuckled sheepishly.
"Don't worry Lucas, Boney, I've driven a few of these things before." Duster reassured them as he pushed another button and the Pork Bean began to levitate. "Here we go!" He pulled a switch and the Pork Bean took off down the street.
Lucas and Boney watched as Duster controlled the Pork Bean rather clunky, but at least they weren't in any danger of crashing or gyrolling all over the place. The boy decided to look out the window to see the outside, and he was rather surprised to see how big and diverse the place was.
Duster moved across the roads and through tunnels. Out of each tunnel was more road and rocks. If Lucas could see this place in the sun he'll bet that it'd look like a canyon. Duster drove the Pork Bean through a station before stopping. "People like to gossip around here, so you can try asking about Claus while you're here, maybe you'll hear something."
Lucas nodded as he said, "Good idea, there's bound to be a Pigmask that knows where Claus is!"
"And if he's in the base that we have yet to find?" Boney asked.
Lucas paused before he said, "Then… we can find a way to ask them where the base is without seeming suspicious… somehow."
Boney sighed as he followed the 'Commander' out of the Pork Bean. Duster put it in park before coming out with them. "Just be careful who you ask, some of them may personally know the real Commander, most likely the higher ranks like Majors or Colonels.."
"Guess we better be extra careful then." Lucas said as they walked towards the station, where people were waiting in a long line for a bathroom and some guy was out selling hot dogs… in the middle of the night.
Walking inside the building, Lucas almost choked at how dirty it was in here and he's sure a lot of people who smoked hung around here, it was rather suffocating. Lucas wondered how Boney and Duster were handling this so well, but he figured maybe it's the masks they're wearing. The place was indeed a big mess, yet there were a lot of people and Pigmasks hanging out here.
Most of the Pigmaks were pink and Captain rank, so it might be safe to interact with them. Lucas approached one of them and said, "Do you know where a boy named Claus is?"
The one who responded was a regular, low-ranking Pigmask. He didn't seem to recognize that the "Commander" was asking him a question at first. Maybe he was having too much fun with his buddies in this place to comprehend it. "... Claus? Why would I know about some... brat named that 'round here? … He a friend of yourz…?" He also sounded slightly tipsy, and Lucas felt a little uncomfortable.
Luckily for him, the Captain that was next to the low-ranking Pigmask slugged him. "Hey! That's the Commander you're talking to!" the Captain said in a harsh whisper.
"Whazzat? The Commander?" The Pigmask just sounded confused. "Why'z he so small though?"
"Please forgive him, Commander. He's had… way too many drinks." The Pigmask Captain squealed before he saluted. "May I ask why are you searching for this boy named Claus, sir?"
"He's… someone I need to talk to, but I'm having trouble finding him." Lucas said. "You should at least know him, he kinda looks like me with ginger hair and he's apparently the uh… waterboy?"
"Waterboy?" the Captain said. Through the tone of his voice alone, Lucas could tell that the Captain had a frown under that mask. He turned to his buddy. "Hey, do you remember anything about a ginger-haired waterboy in the army?"
"... Waterboy?" the pink Pigmask said, his head slightly looped and tilted. "... Well, I certainly don't knows about no waterboy, but I am thirsty! Another drink here!"
The low-ranked Pigmask raised an empty glass high for another drink, and the Captain facepalmed at the response. "Idiot… I'm sorry again, sir, but it doesn't seem like we remember any individual with that description."
Lucas frowned at that. "Okay… uh… maybe you could tell… this newbie here where the base is." he pointed at Duster beside him. "We need to get there and we seem to be lost."
"Uh Lucas, are you sure the Commander would even say that?" Boney asked nervously.
"Hmm? … Well I'll admit these Highways can get a little confusing, but don't you usually have that fancy helmet that tells you which way to go?" The Pigmask Captain asked. "Speaking of which, I rarely ever see you without it sir."
"O-oh, right, the helmet… it's uh… being upgraded right now… so I'm not wearing it tonight." Lucas said, trying not to sound nervous.
"And... at any case, shouldn't you be at the Thunder Tower place?" The pink Pigmask said. "I've heard you were supposed to go check it out… or something." he gave a hiccup.
"Y-yeah, but I need to pick up something at the base." Lucas said after some hesitation.
The Captain didn't respond for a few moments, and Lucas tried not to look too nervous. He hoped the Captain wasn't too suspicious of his intentions. After a while though, the Captain just seemed to shrug it off. "Ah, well, I suppose it would be an honor to help you, Commander. So you want me to tell this Pigmask directions to the base?"
"Oh! Y-yes please, that would be great!" Lucas said quickly, mentally letting out a sigh of relief. He hoped to get out of here quickly and find Claus without raising too much suspicion… and to get out of this horrid building in the first place.
However, before the Pigmask could give Duster the direction he needed, there was a sudden loud screech outside, and people outside began screaming in panic and running out of the road.
"H-huh? What's going on out there?" Lucas frowned.
The Pigmask Captain began squealing. "Oh not again! That stupid malfunctioned Clayman been a big pain since it mutated with all the trash!"
"A Clayman's terrorizing people?" Lucas frowned.
"I've heard about a Clayman that was put into the dump, yet it somehow mutated into a trash monster and is terrorizing people!" The Pigmask Captain grumbled. "Shall we send in the Pork Tanks to deal with the problem? It's getting out of hand."
"And it's a strong one." The other Pigmask said. "Heck I'd be surprised if we could even take it out, it destroyed one of our tanks before. Why not let our big strong Commander handle it, hmm?"
"I said stop being rude to him! You want to lose your job!?" The Pigmask Captain snapped angrily at the tipsy Pigmask.
"What? If he's so strong and great like everyone says he is then he should have no problem using his fancy psychic arm cannon or electric sword to take it out." The Pigmask grumbled with a hiccup.
Lucas, Boney and Duster were all sweating nervously, especially Lucas since he didn't have an arm cannon nor a sword that can discharge electricity, if he were to go out there and fight that thing he'd be exposed for sure.
"U-uh… w-well I uh…" Lucas gulped.
"I'm really sorry about his attitude Commander. I assure you we will set him straight once we get him back to base." The Pigmask Captain said as he bowed over and over again. "But it would be nice to have you destroy that troublesome mutated Clayman so it'd stop terrorizing everyone."
"Err…" Lucas didn't know what to do, he certainly wasn't expecting to take care of some mutated Clayman monster all of a sudden like this, especially in front of these Pigmasks who knew the Commander's weapons and fighting style apparently.
"The Commander's cannon isn't working so well today and he left his sword in the base, that's why he was going back there to pick it up and get his cannon checked out." Duster quickly said, coming up with an excuse.
"Hmph, some professional Commander you are." The tipsy Pigmask complained.
"Quiet you!" the Pigmask Captain snapped at the Pigmask. "W-well… uh… are you sure you can't do anything, Commander? That Clayman- or what we call it as now; Forlorn Junk Heap is quite dangerous."
Lucas was about to say something when he saw said Clayman outside the window, it looked like a tired Clayman being all deformed, but its almost like it became a chimera itself. It had broken gadgets for its arms and made it look rather scary. The Forlorn Junk Heap was moving slowly and throwing pieces of sharp metal at people. Some of them managed to get away, but some weren't as fortunate as the metal slash through their arms or legs and leaving them on the ground in pain.
Lucas frowned at this, he couldn't just let those people get hurt because of that thing. "Well… I may not have any of my weapons with me, but I can still fight." Lucas said.
"Well since you don't have your sword, Commander, use this to compensate." The Pigmask Captain said as he held out a very solid looking stick- no, Lucas knew this was no mere stick, it was a bat. It's great for a fast physical attack. "I uh… kinda had to take my trainee here out to a ball game since he was having a bad day and bought a nice bat there, but since he was so rude to you, Commander, you can have it instead."
"Not cool man! I wanted to keep that bat!" The tipsy Pigmask snapped.
"You WILL show the Commander respect!" The Pigmask Captain snapped.
"Thank you." Lucas said as he took the bat. "This should help me against that monster out there."
"I will help the Commander fight." Duster spoke up from behind Lucas. "After all I am his escort."
Boney just barked and stood beside Lucas, indicating he'll help him too. Lucas smiled at them, "Thanks guys. Now come on, let's go stop that thing out there!"
Lucas, Duster and Boney ran outside to confront the Forlorn Junk Heap, while the Pigmask Captain frowned at the tipsy Pigmask. "Why can't you be more like them?"
Lucas saw the Forlorn Junk Heap throwing more of those sharp metal objects around, he quickly raised his hand. "Shield!"
The boy jumped in front of Duster and Boney as he let his barrier take the metal objects for them, bouncing off and falling to the ground. The Forlorn Junk Heap took notice of this and began making its way towards the three.
Duster and Boney both charged at the Forlorn Junk Heap, they were both pretty fast as Duster swung his leg and kicked the Forlorn Junk Heap hard against its clay-like feet while Boney opened his mouth and began chewing on its trashed-made arm, trying to rip it off. While the mutated Clayman was trying to shake Boney off it, Duster kept throwing it off balance by kicking at its feet. Lucas took this time to get in closer himself and pointed his finger onto its chest before releasing a small but deadly portion of his PK Love into the finger, which made a mini hexagonal explosion causing the Forlorn Junk Heap to be sent back a few good feet away.
The Forlorn Junk Heap gave a loud, throat scratching cry as it began eating the metal things its been throwing, starting to recover from their attacks.
"I think I'm going to be sick… it's healing itself by eating trash." Lucas frowned as he tried to fight the bile that threatened to come up throat.
"No time to get sick Lucas, we need to attack it fast before it eats more trash and gets more ammo at us." Duster said as he rushed at the mutated Clayman.
"I'm all for chewing stuff people throw out, but that is just too much." Boney groaned.
Duster took out a small ball-like object from his pocket and threw it at the Forlorn Junk Heap. As soon as the ball-like object hit the mutated Clayman black thick smoke covered its face, causing it to have trouble seeing before Boney took this opportunity to run and tackle it as hard as he Forlorn Junk Heap gave a low moan as it fell back a bit.
Lucas jumped over the Forlorn Junk Heap before using some of his PK Love into his feet as he kicked it hard, the PK Love in his feet made small hexagonal psychic energy and stuffed the mutated Clayman into the ground.
Unfortunately it wasn't over yet, the Forlorn Junk Heap slowly stood back up as Lucas jumped off it. "This thing is really bulky!" He charged at it again, this time swinging the bat the Pigmask Captain gave him.
The bat left a rather big dent in the Forlorn's waist and Lucas swung his weapon again, hitting it in the face, leaving an even more distorted face than before. Boney joined in as he bit and chewed on its arms again while Lucas kept swinging his bat at the junk heap monster.
"Look out!" Duster yelled when the chimera-like Clayman began grabbing and throwing even bigger metal objects at them, having had enough of being abused by the boy and his dog.
The metal objects were much bigger and heavier than last time, it was strong enough to break Lucas's shield and nearly crushed him and Boney as they were much smaller than the things that were being thrown, they couldn't avoid it as they were too close to the Clayman and they gave a yelp of pain as they were pinned to the ground by the heavy objects. Duster managed to avoid being hit, but now Lucas and Boney were vulnerable. Thinking fast, the thief-in-disguise took out his infamous Wall Staples and he shot out the staples at the trash monster to try and pin it down or at least slow it down.
The Forlorn Junk Heap gave a low moan as it absorbed the metal stables into its clay body and Duster groaned, realizing he had only helped heal the monster rather than slowing it down. Then to his horror he could see it was holding a particularly sharp butcher knife and was aiming at Lucas, who was still trying to get out of the heavy hunk of metal that had him pinned down.
"Lucas! Get out of there!" Duster yelled as he started running at the mutated Clayman to try and stop it.
Lucas gasped when he saw the Forlorn Junk Heap holding such a dangerous weapon in its trash-like hands, and threw the big butcher knife right at him. Lucas gasped as he knew there was no time for him to put up a shield or get out of the way, all he could do was watch, frozen as if time slowed down. Lucas heard Boney screaming out for him as he shut his eyes and prepared for the worst… that is… until something strange happened.
When Lucas didn't feel his head being sliced in half by the butcher knife, he dared to open his eyes and saw probably what was the most confusing thing he ever saw in his life… everything around him was going backwards. The knife flipped back to the Junk Heap's trash-like hands, Duster was running backwards, Boney was charging backwards, the metal stuff all suddenly came back to the Junk Heap, even the Clayman itself was eating in reverse, which was somehow even more sickening to Lucas than watching it eat the trash! The boy still couldn't believe what was happening around him… until he was suddenly back inside the building, just getting the bat from the Pigmask Captain as if that fight he just had with the Clayman never even happened. All Lucas could do was blink as the Pigmask Captain was complaining at the tipsy Pigmask.
What just… happened? Lucas thought to himself, confused as he looked at Duster and Boney, neither of them seemed to be in shock at what just happened.
"Come on Commander, we better hurry." Duster said as he pushed the 'Commander' out the door.
Lucas looked at the Forlorn Junk Heap in confusion before turning back to Duster and Boney. "W-wait, didn't I die or get severely injured? I was about to get sliced by a butcher knife!"
"What? Where did THAT come from Lucas? You just took a bat and now suddenly you're scared of some meat knife?" Boney barked in confusion.
"B-but we were just fighting it!" Lucas argued, still confused.
"Watch out!" Duster yelp as the mutated Clayman began throwing sharp metal objects at them.
Lucas and Boney scrambled away to dodge the incoming projectiles, though the boy was still trying to figure out what had happened. It seemed to him that he somehow went back in time just before the fight.
Before Lucas could do anything else, however, there was a sudden loud high pitch noise that came out of nowhere, and Kumatora herself just materialized from thin air and slowing down from what appeared to be an incredibly fast run.
"Lucas!" She yelled before stopping right in front of the Forlorn Junk Heap and shoved her hands onto its clay body. "PK Fire beta!" The flames began consuming the mutated Clayman as its metal junk parts and the clay itself began to melt.
Wait, she didn't come last time. What's going on? Lucas thought in even more confusion. "K-Kumatora? W-what are you doing here?" Though he was relieved to see all it took was fire to burn the junk heap away. Maybe I should learn some of her offensive PSI moves one day…
Kumatora walked over to Lucas and looked at the uniform he was wearing. "Okay, first of all… what are you wearing?"
"O-oh this is just a disguise!" Lucas quickly said, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. "Duster and Boney were helping me find my brother… he kinda disappeared on me again."
Duster took off the Pigmask's mask off his head and said, "How did you even get here?"
"That was pretty cool how she just came out of nowhere and barbecued that giant trash heap of a Clayman!" Boney barked as he wagged his tail.
"I used an old PSI of mine. I don't like using it too often because of its requirements, but I use it in emergencies. It's called PK Teleport, as its name describes I can teleport, but there are limits. I can only teleport to a place I've been to or are familiar with it, and I have to run in a straight line and go faster and faster as my PSI takes over, but if I run into something let's just say it hurts like hel- you get the point." She grumbled. "I don't use it too often, but I had to because someone used a save frog… Aeolia and I were worried Lucas might've been in trouble and she wanted me to take him back to her anyways for something really important."
"How did you know I would be here?" Lucas asked.
"I felt your PSI, Lucas. I decided to just wait until you came back to Tazmily, but since the save frog was used I was worried you got in trouble and used PSI Teleport to make sure you're okay." Kumatora explained.
"What's a save frog?" Lucas asked.
"Wait… you've never spoken to a frog before? Even after all this time?" Kumatora asked, surprised. "And it wasn't you who used it?"
"Uh… I never thought it was necessary to talk to a frog before." Lucas said, sounding unsure. "Wait... did it have something to do with why time suddenly went back?"
Duster, the only other human here who only had a slight idea of what the two PSI users were talking about, decided to question the most pressing matter. "Time went back?" he asked.
Kumatora nodded her head, deciding to explain to both Lucas and Duster of what had just happened earlier. "Yeah. Only those with PSI can remember what happened before a save frog saves someone's life by rewinding time. They form a connection with the person who can hear them and uses that connection to save their life if they die, but they can only do it once per person. None of us really knows how they do it, but it works. And it's also kind of why everyone think most people with psychic powers can see the future, even though that is not a common PSI ability to have. But if Lucas here didn't use a save frog, then who did?"
"It could've been the Commander." Lucas suggested. "He's the only other person we know who can use PSI on this entire island… you know, besides the Magypsies and they're kinda immortal. Something terrible must've happened at Thunder Tower if a save frog had to rewind time to save him." Though the boy wouldn't admit that the save frog did technically save his own life too.
"Well it's a good thing you came then, Kumatora. I don't think that junk heap would've been an easy fight for us." Duster said to her.
"It's just a bunch of trash and clay, so fire is usually a good thing to use to melt all that." Kumatora shrugged. "But anyways, Lucas, there's something important you need to know. Ionia and Aeolia talked about this earlier, and they said… it's time. It's time for you… to start pulling the seven Needles."
Lucas looked at her and frowned, he had known about the Dark Dragon's legend after Ionia talked to him about it a few months back, and he had been trying to mentally prepare himself for it but he was hoping it'd be years until it was time to pull the Needles as he wanted to spend more time in Tazmily, with his family, with Kumatora and Duster, and even with his mentors the Magypsies that taught him everything he knew. "Already? But I just turned 13 years old…"
"I know Lucas, but they insist it's time now." Kumatora said sadly. "I don't want them to disappear either, they raised me when I was little, they're practically family to me… but you and I both knew this was to happen at some point."
Lucas only solemnly nodded his head. "I just wish it wasn't so soon…"
"Well… take my hand, I'll use PK Teleport to get us back to Aeolia's house and she'll explain everything." Kumatora said as she held out her hand.
"Um… can we take off these ridiculous disguises now? Well Lucas looks pretty good in that get up, but still it'd be nice if I could breathe without this stupid thing over my face!" Boney barked.
"Oh right… I guess we should return these." Lucas said as he unzipped the jacket, revealing his red and yellow striped shirt underneath.
"There's no time, just leave it off to the side somewhere." Kumatora said impatiently. "Aeolia's hoping you pull her Needle by the time the morning sun rises."
"But that's littering." Lucas frowned as he took off the uniform. Duster and Boney were taking off theirs as well, both looking rather relieved to be back in their own clothing… well for Duster. Boney was just glad to have his face free. "Oh alright, if we're that pressed for time…"
"All of you take hands." Kumatora said. "We want to be linked when we teleport."
Duster took Kumatora's hand while Lucas took Duster's and the boy held onto Boney. "Alright, hang on tight." She said before she began running down the road at the same time the morning sun began to slowly rise into the dark sky. Lucas was rather surprised at how fast they were going since no average human could ever run this fast. They kept going faster and faster, and as they picked up speed, Lucas could hear a high pitched sound that got louder and louder the faster they went.
Soon, just when the high pitched noise began to get unbearable, Lucas felt Duster and Boney beginning to feel like water as their bodies were de-materializing, and he gasped when he saw himself was de-materializing as well and everything around him was nothing but a blur.
Before Lucas could dwell on the fact his body didn't exist anymore, Duster and Boney suddenly became solid again, and his body returned as well and they were slowing down- much to his relief. Kumatora soon stopped them in front of a familiar pink shelled house. "We're here- oh dear." She said in concern when she noticed her passengers suddenly fell to their hands and knees, looking very sick. "I'm sorry! I forgot first timers would get very sick! Just ride it out, it'll pass."
Ugh… that… ugh… I felt like my stomach left my gut back there… I feel so horrible… Lucas groaned, struggling not to puke.
Boney was just whimpering and sat down very still while Duster was about the same as Lucas. Kumatora sighed and said, "I don't use PSI Teleport very often for this reason too…"
After a few minutes, Lucas was able to get back on his feet again, though Duster and Boney didn't look like they wanted to move any time soon. "L-let's just… talk to Aeolia. Boney, Duster, you guys stay here and try to recover."
Kumatora nodded as she lead the boy into the house. "Aeolia, I've brought him."
"Oh Lucas! My have you grown, it's like I just blinked and you went from that small boy who had PSI Fever into this cute teenager, ready to pull my Needle~." 'She' said with a big smile.
"A-are you sure it's really time for me to pull the Needles now?" Lucas asked, frowning a bit, forgetting his motion sickness from earlier. "I mean… I was hoping that the 'time' wouldn't be until years later… I've only just turned 13 years old."
"Yes I know, darling~ But the time has already come, dear Lucas." Aeolia said. "The Dark Dragon must be awakened soon and it's your job to pull the Needles to do so."
"But why now? Why does it have to be now?" Lucas asked, dreading that he'll have to say goodbye to Aeolia very soon, and most likely his family for a long time. I hope Claus comes home safely...
"Let's just say an old friend of ours paid us a visit last night. He said that the time has come, when the morning sun rises the first of the seven Needles must be pulled, and darling that is now." Aeolia said. "So I'll lead you through the secret route to my Needle, okay~?"
"I-I… I don't know if I can do it…" Lucas frowned as he looked at the first Magypsy he ever met. "I mean… doing so means you'll… you'll disappear…"
"That is true, once the Needle is gone I will go too." Aeolia admitted. "But this is a happy occasion, not a sad one~ I know it'll be hard to say goodbye, Lucas, but you know this is for the good of the world, right?"
The blond haired boy gave a solemn nod. "I guess I just… wish there was another way…"
"Ah, but there isn't any other way~ The world will never recover if the Dark Dragon doesn't wake up soon. Lucas darling I know you will bring the rebirth of the world along with the Dark Dragon~ Oh and if you can, maybe have that Commander help out since he too can use the legendary PK Love." Aeolia said as 'she' flipped a switch and a table moved, revealing a tunnel down below. "This will take you to the Needle at Osohe Castle, be sure to pull it with all your heart~."
Lucas looked sadly back at the Magypsy. "I guess… this is goodbye then…"
"Yes, and thank you. Kumatora can help you on your journey to pull the other six Needles." Aeolia said.
"W-we'll help too." Duster spoke up as he and Boney entered the house, having recovered from the motion sickness. "We want to help Lucas too."
"I'm not going to let Lucas go without me, he needs my help, poor boy gets into a lot of trouble on his own." Boney barked.
"Ah, so lovely, a group of friends coming together for a common cause. There's nothing better than that~! Alright Lucas, everyone is behind you." Aeolia said cheerfully.
Lucas gave a nod before Kumatora gestured for him to follow her. She lead him, Duster and Boney down into the tunnel and lead them out into the Osohe Castle's courtyard. There Lucas could see the morning sun had risen higher into the sky and in front of him was a golden Needle with a dragon's head and wings on the tip, it had a radiant glow and he felt like something was calling out to him.
"So that's the Needle?" Duster asked.
"Yes, that's it." Kumatora confirmed as Lucas slowly approached it.
The boy didn't know why but he felt like something about the Needle was pulling him towards it. The closer he got, the warmer he felt, almost like when he and Claus hugged each other in his Magicant- it just felt right. When Lucas was within reach of the Needle, he could see its brilliant light radiating from the spire. The boy reached out and touched the Needle, and he felt like he was holding Claus's hand and his mother was hugging him, as if both of them were supporting him.
Lucas focused on his heart, feeling his PSI warming him, his PK Love slowly forming around his hands as he began to pull. The Needle's dragon winged tip came off as he pulled, a brilliant light began to shine on the Needle and Lucas. Soon the boy managed to pull it out of the ground. The light and the Needle disappeared as soon as he pulled it out, and for a long second there was a loud sound that indicated the Needle was pulled and a light flashed before everything grew dark. Then the entire world around them began trembling, and a beat was heard, it was almost like a heartbeat and the entire place trembled with each beat. Lucas stood there as if in a trance, while Kumatora, Duster and Boney were on the ground trying to ride out the trembles.
The world looked like it was changing colors as thick smoke came out of the hole where the Needle once was, and there was another bright flash of light before it was over. The trembles and heartbeats finally stopped, and all that was left of where the Needle once was, was a hole with purple mist-like substance bubbling out.
Lucas blinked out of his trance and looked up at the sky, seeing the morning sun had risen high already, filling the sky with its light.
And so with that morning sun… I had pulled the first of seven Needles. It felt right, and even though I didn't like the idea Aeolia will be gone now, I knew from then on what I had to do. It was time for me to go on a journey to find the six other Needles and reborn this world into what it used to be- maybe even into something better. Maybe I'll run into Claus and he can come with us to help out, that'd be nice.
So as a reminder in case you forgot by the time you got down here I will ask again; do you think the chapters should be this long and wait an extra week or should we split and shorten them? The parts would be shorter with these longer chapters, so keep that in mind. I am DarkFoxKit, my co-writer is Donfyre and we look forward to hearing from you!