A/N: Time for the next chapter. I... actually don't have much to say this time. There's no updates with the previous chapters nor anything I can divulge that will give away major plot points, so I'll let the next two chapters do the talking. Enjoy!
Chapter 24: Reunion
"You twisted monster!"
"She was... she was..."
"How could you do this! How!"
Voices... those voices are familiar... who is speaking? I struggle to open my eyes... my eyelids feel so heavy... no, not just them, but my whole body. Like my entire body is being weighed down with lead... but I don't feel any weight. I think I'm just really tired... I can at least tell I'm laying on the ground on my stomach. I fight against gravity and fatigue to open my eyes, and bring my head up so I can see who is speaking...
"How could you do this to your best friend!"
"You're not even Lucas anymore, are you...? You're not even our friend anymore!"
I hear my name spat with venom just as I see what the source of all of this hatred is... it's... it's...
Me...
Or rather, my more demonic side...
It's with great shock and despair that I begin to take in the scene before me. My monster self is tied onto a wooden post with thick, black chains... with hay at the bottom. Burning hay. He's being burned at the stake, like a witch in the olden days of other worlds. The sky is nearly pitch black from the smoke. Everyone is here... everyone... not only the Smashers, but all of Tazmily... even my family... everyone is gathered around the gradually-burning fiend, shouting obscenities and voicing their rage. All at him... it's as if they don't even know I'm on the ground in front of them... everyone except...
Wait... where is Lyn? My eyes scour the crowds, but to no avail as I don't see her face...
Until I look down...
There she is, laying in front of me... with a giant, gaping hole in her chest.
I shriek and crawl back in revulsion and absolute horror at the sight of my friend... my best friend, laying there, dead. Her eyes have no life in them, wide open and... staring at me soullessly... I feel like I'm going to be sick... I look up, at my monstrous counterpart, to see him not afraid of the fire, or of the crowd... but smiling, smiling wickedly while he looks down at her body in obvious glee. And then... he looks at me... his grin widens again...
I realize it then... he killed her... he killed Lyn... no... I killed Lyn... no... no! It couldn't have been me! That is not me!
"If these are your true colours, Lucas, then I hope you burn in Hell forever!"
"Lucas... may these flames purify your tortured soul, and prevent you from torturing the souls of others..."
"No... stop it! Stop shouting at him!" I scream above the voices. "That isn't me! That monster is not me!"
But in spite of how loud I shouted, I was ignored... not one person even recognized that I was here beside her body. And then I hear laughing... I look back up at the stake, to see my other self laughing... laughing at me... "Deny it all you want, weak little idiot!" it says. "This is what'll happen if you don't accept who you are!"
Then it descends into a massive fit of laughter, as the fire has climbed up the stake and reached him... wait, why am I feeling hot! I look down at my feet in panic, to see that fire is appearing around my feet! I... I can't move! All of the sudden I can't move! The... the fire... it's climbing up my body! It hurts! IT HURTS!
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I try to scream, but I get a mouthful of... something... something cold. It's stopping me from breathing. I feel a soothing cold moving around my body as I bolt upright, spitting out whatever it was in my mouth and gasping for air. My body is shaking... I grasp my chest on instinct to feel my heart rate, and it's off the charts...
"Lucas, are you alright! What happened!" That voice... Lyn? Is that Lyn's voice! I rub the foreign substance out of my eyes hurriedly and open them to see, and indeed, she is beside me wearing a panicked expression... but... wasn't she...
Then the reality hits me like that Falcon Punch from a while ago. It was another nightmare... of course, how could both my monster side and I be in the same place at the same time? And fire doesn't just collect around something... not without magical aid, at least... "I... I..." is the only reply I can give her. My mind is still racing... trying to calm myself down, I look at my surroundings... I'm sitting in a plain white bed, soaked with something... water? Yeah, I think its water... and I'm soaked in it too. "Why am I... soaked in water...?" I say in between breaths.
I look around the room to see if anyone else is there, as I'm sure Lyn wouldn't be mean enough to give me the ice-water treatment. And sure enough, Paula and Ness are in the room too... the latter is holding a metal bucket. "Uhh... th-this isn't what you think, I swear!" Ness stammers.
"Not what I... how is this not what I think it is!" I bellow at him, in no mood for his pranks. "I'm drenched in cold water and you're holding the bucket!"
"But your sheets were on fire!" Paula interrupts. "You... set fire to the bed in your sleep, Lucas..."
My rage is put to an immediate halt while my eyes widen. I... performed PSI in my sleep? Again? Inspecting the sheets with more clarity of mind, I see that they are burned badly... about only three-quarters of the top sheet actually remains. I'm actually sitting on the uncovered mattress, also singed, because the bed sheets were burned away. And my... my shirt is in tatters, and my shorts are half-gone... also burned up to some extent. "Uh... o-oh, I... see..." I say, feeling sorry for yelling at Ness. He probably wasn't trying to wake me up, but instead trying to put out the fire... and now that I'm more awake, I can feel some fervent itching on my own body. I suffered some burns, too... in my human form I might add. It must be daytime. Parts of my skin are reddened and peeling off. I resist the urge to scratch them, I know it will only make them worse.
"You're lucky Lyn was in here to look after you." Paula continues, getting up on the bed and putting her hand on one of my burns... I wince at the sting, but then it goes away... she's using PK Healing on my burns. As she moves onto the next one, she says, "If she hadn't called for help, you might've been cooked alive..."
That's another save from Lyn... I must be such a burden to her. I can't help but feel guilty... I look at her with sorrow in my eyes, but she just smiles in response, as if saying it wasn't a problem. But I can't return the gesture this time... I let Paula do her work on me while I try to recollect my thoughts. "So... I'm guessing we're not at the manor anymore..." I assume, trying to recall the memories. This bedroom is awfully plain... a guest room that serves its purpose and nothing more, just a dresser and a mirror in here other than the bed I'm sitting on. I'm sure no room in the Smash Manor was this dull...
"Yeah... we're on the Halberd right now, parked at San Miguel. Paula felt you losing it again." Ness says. "I don't think I've ever seen her so terrified-" He is quickly interrupted by Paula elbowing him in the gut, coincidentally being at the right end of the bed at the time. "Ow! Girl, why you hit so hard!"
"I wasn't that scared!" Paula defends herself, turning her attention to a burn on my back. A sizeable one judging from the painful prickly feeling. "But still... something wasn't right with you. I honestly couldn't tell what I was feeling from you... it was almost like there were two of you. I don't know how else to put it." Two of me? How could there possibly be two of me? Unless...
"Lucas... didn't you say something like that about your nightmares the other night?" Lyn interjects. "How you were... talking to yourself in a mirror?"
I nod. "Yeah... I did... it kept saying it was me, looking like my monster form... saying it was my 'true self' or something..."
Paula moves away from me at this point and gets off of the bed, her healing done... she seems deep in thought. No, she is deep in thought... I can clearly tell now that I'm back in human form, with access to my own PSI. "Oh dear... I think I might know what's happened." She says, shaking the red off of her face. "Your mental condition is getting even worse, Lucas..." My heart sinks as she says that. "I think you might be developing a case of 'split personality.'"
"Split personality?" Ness repeats, blinking. "You mean like Harvey Two-Face from Batman?" Batman... I think that's a comic book series Ness likes to read. But I could be wrong.
"Yeah, something like that..." Paula answers. "Even being a psychic prodigy, I'm not an expert on this stuff... but in everything I've read about mental problems, it goes something like this..." I give her my undivided attention as she starts to explain. "When someone starts losing his sanity, he either fights it or gives into it. People who fight it successfully regain themselves, and people who just give in change entirely... but sometimes there's a middle ground, where the struggle gets so intense, where the person refuses to quit but just can't win... sometimes it goes on forever, but other times his mindsets just... split apart from each other. Like two minds in the same body. It's really rare."
Two minds... unfortunately, I think I may understand what she's talking about. "Ugh... I think it might be exactly that..." I say. "When all of that crap was happening down below the manor, it was like I was arguing with myself whether or not to tough it out or wreck everything in sight... it ended with a splitting headache..." With this revelation, I glance over at Ness with gratitude. "Thanks for putting me out, Ness... there's no telling what I might've done if you didn't..." Having a second mind is like me not even being in control of my own thoughts and actions... just like Claus as the Masked Man... its a terrifying thought. It paints a sorrowful picture of why he might have used that lightning attack on me back in the battle for the final needle... is that why you did that to yourself, so no one could control you anymore?
The other boy psychic lets out a heavy sigh and replies, "Just don't make me do it on a regular basis. If I ever have to use PSI on you, I only want it to be in an exhibition match... not that we'll be having those anymore..."
A grim reminder of what happened down in the bunker. "Master Hand... he was our only lead... why did Claus do that to him?" I say with a groan... and that's when I remember. "Wait... Claus! Where is he now!" I demand.
"Don't worry, he's safe." Lyn informs me. "We took him with us before the manor came down..."
I should feel relieved at that... but really I don't know what to feel. It's a great weight off my shoulders to know that my brother is alright, but on the other hand, his purpose for even being here in the first place was to get rid of me... controlled just like before. Oh, Claus... actually having some insight into how he must feel now only deepens the mental scars. What if that happens to me...?
Then I process the second part of the sentence. "Wait, 'came down?'" I repeat.
"Uh... the manor is gone, Lucas..." Ness says... with some hesitation and uncertainty. "I... I think you should see what happened for yourself, Meta Knight recorded the footage." He then shakes his head. "Trust me, you have to see it to believe it. And even then you probably won't, I've seen it five times and still don't get it... even Jeff is stumped."
I groan. "Great... this has to be good, then." I droll out sarcastically. Despite everything that's happened to me, they still want my help... I'm not sure how much I can help anymore. Knowing that this other self in inside of me now, able to take control at any moment... I can't leave this matter unaddressed. But what can I do about it? Nothing, at least not in the midst of all of this... maybe... maybe I should take Claus' way out of this, if things go horribly wrong. But I can't burden them with this! But... who else am I going to ask...?
I decide then that the best person is beside me right now. As much as I don't want to... I have to take precautions. As painful as it is to admit to myself, I'd sooner die myself than see my friends die around me, let alone be the cause. There might not be another way...
"Ness, Paula, can you leave for a minute?" I ask them as politely as I can manage. "I want to speak to Lyn alone..."
"Huh? Uhh... sure, okay." Ness says, apparently caught off guard by the question. He and Paula nod, and they exit the room and close the door behind them.
As should be expected, Lyn is confused by my request. "What's the matter, Lucas?" She asks.
The weight of what I need to ask her is almost crushing... I can't even bring myself to look at her. I can only stare down at my scorched clothing... "Lyn... I need a favour. A really big favour." She doesn't say anything, but I can tell I have her undivided attention. I raise my hands up to look at them... I can't stop them from shaking. "Every day, my mind is just getting worse and worse... I know you're all trying your best to help me, but... it just isn't working..."
"Lucas... I'm afraid I don't understand." Lyn says... sounding a bit concerned.
"Lyn, I-I... I don't think I'm ever going to fully recover from this..." I stammer. "It's gotten so bad that my mind has literally split in two, like another person inside my head... and despite my best efforts, I'm losing out to it... I think... it's only a matter of time before I lose myself completely..." She just stares at me, speechless and worried. I think she may have figured out what I'm going to ask. "Lyn... if that happens..." I gulp, hesitant to finally ask... but I don't have a choice. "I want you to stop me..."
"St... stop you...?" She whispers out, disbelieving. "N-no... Lucas, please think about what you're asking of me!" Her voice is pleading, desperate. "You're... you're my friend... you're my best friend... I can't... I won't...!" She's so distraught all of the sudden... this isn't like her at all...
Thought so, the stupid girl just doesn't get it.
"And what if I wind up killing YOU!" I snap back at her, finally looking at her face. She jumps back in shock, and immediately I'm surprised at myself. That show of rage had came to me out of nowhere...her face is flushed red, and tears are lining the bottoms of her eyelids. I'm immediately sorry... I hadn't expected this to devastate her so much, so soon... but still...
But what? It's her own damn fault if she's too wimpy to do one simple thing I ask her.
I grip my head... damnit, where are these thoughts coming from! Is this what Paula was talking about, is this my split personality disorder at work? Even now, when I was reasonably calm... I can hear the voice in my head... there's no doubt in my mind now. This has to be done. "Lyn... I've thought hard about this. I don't want to die... but damnit, this isn't about me anymore!" I say, trying and failing to lower my voice and calm down. "What if I lose my mind around one of you...? What if... I... I..." I can't bring myself to finish the sentence, as tears are beginning to well up in my own eyes. "I don't want to hurt them... I don't want to hurt you... I... I won't..."
And so I'm just going to let her hurt me?
I grip my forehead tighter... no, I can't give in, not now. I'm only asking this of Lyn if this gets out of control. Until then, I'm going to try my absolute hardest to stay sane. But should I fail, I need her to do this... for everyone. I move my hand away so I can look at her again, and the tears have begun to stream down her face... I wish I hadn't made her cry, I really do. But in her eyes, I can also see understanding... some level of understanding of my problem. "I hope you know... I'm going to do everything within my power to save you before that..." she says, trying not to choke on any of her words.
I nod slowly. "I know... you know when you need to do things that have to be done. You don't hesitate. That's why you're the only person I can ask... so please, promise me..." I lace my fingers together in a pleading manner, like when someone prays. "If you can't save me... do whatever it takes to stop me... ,please, don't let me hurt another innocent soul..."
All she can do is look at me, hesitant to say anything... but after a tense moment, she slowly brings her arms around me in a warm hug, resting her chin on top of my head and nuzzling it into her chest. I can feel it again... my heartbeat quickening... it's infuriating, I feel like I should really know what this means, but... I just can't figure it out...
"I promise..."
Her agreement makes my heart beat even faster... "Thank you..." I say with gratitude, hugging her back.
For a while, all we do is sit there, as if it were the last moment we had together...
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It's fortunate that every Smasher and Assistant has their own room in the Halberd. It was decided, much to Meta Knight's chagrin if I recall, that we should have some of our necessities on the ship already so we don't have to worry about forgetting anything. Finding a new shirt was a simple as pulling one out of the dresser in the room. So now I'm back to my usual yellow and orange stripes. I also replaced the burned shorts.
After we winded ourselves down from the emotional moment we shared, Lyn and I went down to the common room. Ness, Paula and Jeff are there already, as is Snake... and one person I've never seen before, standing beside the mercenary. He is a plain-looking man only appearing a bit younger than Snake, wearing blue trousers and a white lab coat over a grey shirt that matches the colour of his short, dishevelled hair. He has some slight facial hair on his chin and wears a pair of simple, circular-rimmed glasses. He looks kind of... scrawny for a man his age. His eyes are fixated on the television set.
I joined Ness and Paula on an empty spot on their couch. Lyn preferred to stand, beside my end of the furniture. It had a good view of the television, which had a video on pause. It displayed the manor at night, swarming with that sea of Alloys... this was when we attacked. "We caught this with the Halberd's front camera. Didn't know Meta Knight even had cameras on his ship..." he explained to me as he ran up to the television to start the video, before quickly jogging back to his seat.
Once everyone is out of the way, I turn my attention to the video. I'm noticing a lack of anything spectacular, though... the shifting metal sea on the ground of the manor is the only thing that catches my eye, that and the explosions ringing out through it. This is nothing but a war scene. "...What am I supposed to be looking at here?" I inquire.
"Watch, it's about to happen." Ness replies. And sure enough, something does break the monotony on the replay not a few seconds later: from the sky, a massive, black pillar of some sort crashes down into the roof of the manor. It reminds me a little of a scene from one of Ness' favourite movies... "Independence Day," I think it was called, except that beam was green and resulted in a massive explosion blowing fire out of every orifice in the building. The thing in this video must have been the black laser that nearly crushed the four of us plus Jeff, only its effects weren't as exaggerated; I can only barely see glass falling out of window panes with the small video resolution, but other than that the manor appeared to be pretty much intact. But it was indeed powerful, because the video feed becomes static for a few seconds after the laser hits. When the feed is restored, the laser is gone.
From this point forward I give the video more attention, since anything after this point will have been during my hypnosis. The camera is slowly panning upwards from the manor... perhaps in search of the source of that massive laser blast? For a few seconds there is nothing but clouds moving downwards on the screen, but when the camera catches something...
"What in the world...?" Not just I, but also Lyn say just loud enough to be heard. Through a rather sizeable hole in the clouds, likely made by the laser, that laser's source is visible in the skies above. Or at least its outline... from such a distance it's difficult to make anything out. On the video, it appears only as a silhouette... but whatever it is, it's big. The only distinguishing feature I can make out are wings... two absolutely massive wings that have to be at least twice the size of the thing that they are attached to. More noticeable is the dark-purple outline that is along the edges of the figure...
Then, a flash of white light. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it occurance from the huge thing in the sky that whitens out the camera for a split second, and when visuals return, its shape has changed. I can tell now that it has arms and legs... no, claws actually. And a very long neck, with a head that was certainly not human...
"Is that... a dragon?" Lyn asks. A dragon? Odd that she would suggest that out of the blue, but now that I think about it... it does seem to have the bodily outline of a classic, mythical dragon. But because it's so high in the sky, I can't tell anything other than that. One thing I am gradually beginning to notice though is that the shape is starting to get bigger... "And is it falling!"
"It gets even weirder. Check out around it." Ness says. Attention off of the dragon-shape for now, I notice that black objects are rising through the clouds and headed straight for it. "Those black things coming up are chunks of land."
"Land!" I exclaim in disbelief, looking at him. "You mean our yard flew up into that... thing!"
"Well, not our yard..." he replies. "More like the mountain ranges and other things around our yard." I look back to the video, to see that the land is quickly clumping and packing around the dragon-shaped thing... and more importantly that its descent is not stopping. Then, the camera starts to pan away from the thing, and away from the manor. Then the video cuts out entirely. Ness addresses the issue before I can say anything. "That was all we needed to see before we got out of there... that thing, whatever it was, got encased in all of that land and... fell on the manor."
All I can do is stare at the now-blank screen in awe as I process everything I've just learned. A mysterious, huge attacker from way up in the sky, the land developing a mind of its own and trying to trap the intruder, and then falling right on our home... "Everyone made it out... right...? Right!" I ask pleadingly, worried for the safety of the dozens of Smashers, Assistants and other staff at the manor. If any of them were hurt because of me...
"Oh, yeah, we had plenty of time before it landed." Ness reassures me. "Don't worry, no one got left behind. But Meta Knight went back to check what became of it, and... well, there's nothing left. Our home is gone..." My head falls to my feet as I realize that. "He was really creeped out when he got back... he said it was like... the world was dead, or something like that..."
Meta Knight? Creeped out? Those were words people didn't usually use in the same subject. But seeing the aftermath of what had to equal the impact of a meteor the size of a large island... it's not that big of a surprise that no life would survive something like that. But for something like this actually happen... Ness was right, I've seen this and still don't completely believe it. "Understandably, no one is willing to go back there and see for themselves." intruded Snake. "So now, we have no leads and no idea where to go from here... I'm afraid we're at a dead end."
This was news I was definitely not happy to hear... I can't help the whimper that escapes my throat as I shake my head in frustration and despair. "We were so close... Master Hand was right there, we had him cornered..." I sob. I feel something touching my shoulder... I don't need to look up to know that it's Lyn's hand, trying to comfort me. But it does little to ease my heavy heart. "Why... why did it have to happen then, of all times... and who...?"
"We really don't know..." Snake answers. "It could've been Shadow, just trying to make our lives miserable like usual. Or it could've been a last-ditch effort from Master Hand to stop us, or even that weird 'third party' that wants you dead, since that cyborg boy showed up..." He sighs with frustration. "They're all possible suspects, and we have nothing to tell us which one."
"Wait... that might not be true." Ness says. "We might have one person here who can tell us that, but... I'm in no hurry to wake him up, if you know what I mean..."
Since it's clear that neither the Smashers, nor Philanthropy, nor the Meta Knights have the slightest clue what's going on, that only leaves one person within our midst who may have any firsthand knowledge on what happened: Claus. "Where is Claus now...?" I ask. Not just because he could be our only link to the truth, but also because I'm worried for him...
"In the medical ward, restrained to the bed just to be safe." Jeff tells me, walking up to the back of the couch. I look up at him, and through his glasses I can see disdain in his eyes... "That sudden electrical discharge he had back at the manor did a number on him, though... nearly all of his mechanical systems are shorted out, but according to Dr. Mario he's just unconscious right now..."
So only the cyborg parts of Claus' body took any significant damage? I'm not sure whether to feel overjoyed or terrified that he's relatively alright... "I hate to say it Lucas, but waking your brother up could be a really bad idea..." Ness says, trying to sound sympathetic. I know it's fake though, because from everything he's told me, his family was never in mortal peril. "Even if he does know anything, he could blow us all away as soon as he comes to."
Unfortunately, Ness was absolutely right. PK Psycho-Shield or PK Psycho-Counter doesn't stop lightning, and his PK Love... the glimmer of hope I have quickly disappears when I recall one of his abilities, called the "Shield Killer." He just cuts through and destroys any form of shield or barrier with his sword. I then remember that I told Ness and Paula to use their Psycho-Shields to stop his PK Love, during my panic down in the manor's bunker... that would've been a fatal mistake. We were lucky he turned the attack on Master Hand instead. I decide not to inform them of that misstep, and then ask the obvious question. "Then what else can we do now...?"
"I might be able to help..." Paula says, catching my attention and everyone else's in the room. "I'm able to use telepathy. If we can't wake Claus up, then I might be able to look into his mind while he's unconscious..."
Telepathy to the sleeping...? "Paula... is that really possible?" I ask her.
"It certainly is." Paula replies. "It's like looking up files on a computer... well, kind of. And people who are asleep or unconscious, even psychics, don't usually have much mental defense. If he knows anything, I just might be able to find out."
"Whoa, wait, wait." Ness interrupts. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Paula? I mean, Claus was being controlled by some outside force..."
Sure, Ness, blow away our only hope in getting anywhere...
I try my best to ignore the voice in my head. "I know..." Paula says, a bit angry at Ness for pointing out this apparent danger. "But have you got any better ideas?"
Ness only stares at her, his mind frantically trying to conjure up an alternative, but he eventually shakes his head and says, "No..." in defeat.
"But..." Paula continues. "Ness has a point. Even I don't know what might happen, so I won't do this to your brother if you don't want me to. It's your choice, Lucas." As much as I don't want to endanger my friends with yet another personal problem, or violate Claus' fleeting privacy, there really are no other paths before us. The simple truth is that we're now too involved in this case to just leave it here, and right now our only hope in proceeding lies in his unconscious mind. But even so, I don't want to just leave this to her alone.
"Only if I'm there when you do it."
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Fast-forward to the medical ward, which is pretty much a compact version of the manor's medical facilities. Its half bedroom filled with medicines, drugs and surgical tools, and half Restoration Tube room; there are two vats here. Claus is tightly restrained to one of the plain, white beds with thick metal braces on his arms, legs and a smaller one around his neck. And these braces are much larger than what I usually see, they would probably easily restrain the likes of Bowser and Donkey Kong. As for Claus himself, he doesn't look so great. His face looks almost pristine except for his open, drooling mouth... that was how he usually looked when sleeping. But the rest of his body is not so well off, with clothing and skin half-burned off. Underneath that skin, I do not see any flesh and bone like that of a normal human being, but metal and wires respectively charred and frayed. I find myself looking all over him in search of a spot on his body that actually is flesh, but I'm not having any luck. It feels like my heart is bleeding at the sight of him... but at the same time skipping beats in fear. Even in this state, he could potentially wake up and kill us all easily, at any moment...
Mario was in the room in his doctor's outfit, which is basically a white lab coat and white pants, blue surgical gloves and a heartbeat listener... thing – I don't know the technical name – worn on his head like a headband. Unable to do anything for Claus at the moment, he lets Paula and I through. The rest of us – everyone who was in the common room, including that strange man – respectfully stand back at the entrance. Paula pulls up a chair to the left side of Claus' bed, while I sit at the right, making sure not to be in the firing line of his arm cannon. I can feel Ness preparing his PSI at the other end of the room, ready to defend Paula and I at a moment's notice.
"Alright, first things first..." Paula begins. "I'm going to make sure that whatever was controlling him isn't still in control. Because I'm not too eager to try this if that's the case."
After she says this, I can feel Ness' mental powers doubling in concentration. I don't blame him. Paula lifts a dainty right hand and slowly places it on the forehead of my brother, and closes her eyes. Her mental energies almost spike then, and I gulp in anticipation and concern. After a tense few seconds, she smiles slightly and opens her eyes to look at me.
"I can definitely feel something... something is trying really, really hard to maintain control over him, something very strong... but it has no access while he's unconscious." She explains. "That's good. As long as he stays asleep, I shouldn't have any trouble."
A let out a huge sigh of relief; it's good to know that, even unconscious, my brother has some peace of mind... he's better off than me at least. "Please, do whatever you have to do quickly. I don't want to put you in any more danger than I have to." I reply.
She nods and says, "I promise, it will only take a minute or two." And then her eyes close again. This time, they do not open immediately, but I can tell that she is concentrating deeply... almost like she's in a trance. Now there's nothing to do but wait.
"Ugh... all this psychic stuff is creepy." I don't recognize that voice, but it came from that man... he's trying to whisper, but in the silence of the room I can just barely tell what he's saying. "I've never been able to look at psychics or fortune tellers the same way since Psycho Mantis, not even in my animés..."
"These psychics are good people, Otacon." Snake whispers back. "I've fought alongside them, and from what I've seen they've only used their powers to help people, not control them like he did. Lucas is only as messed up as he is because of the guy we're trying to hunt down."
Otacon... so that's who that man is! In most of his missions, and sometimes even in his exhibition matches, Snake has the help of three Philanthropy operatives to give him information. The Smashers only know them Mei Ling, "Colonel" and Otacon. The lattermost was a scientist that designed some kind of war mech called "Metal Gear," and apparently has some obsession with Japanese cartoons, hence his name... not that I know what it means, I never thought to ask. Well, at least now I know who he is... this is the first time I've ever seen any of Snake's comrades. He's probably only here because Philanthropy is...
I get back to the subject at hand when I sense Paula relaxing her mind, and look back to her. Her expression is one of puzzlement. "I'm talking to him..."
My eyes widen. "Talking to him?" I repeat.
"It's very strange... his body and mind are completely separate from each other." Paula explains. "He's literally been shut out from his body... but his mind has still been conscious through it all. I can talk to him through our mental link... direct mental communication is a lot faster than actual talking. I've already explained the situation to him... he says he's been really lonely... and that he's been worried sick about you, Lucas..."
I can hardly believe it... Paula actually spoke to Claus within his mind... that was better than I could've ever expected. "Can you tell him I'm here? That I'm beside him right now?"
She smiles broadly at me and replies, "If your mind is stable enough, you can tell him yourself. I'm amazed at how stable his mind is... I could send you in if you wanted."
Unbelieveable... I have a chance to actually talk to my brother again, face to face? It's hardly worth asking the question. "Please... do it!"
She nods and says, "Close your eyes..." I do as instructed, and I can feel her hand touch my forehead. In that instant, I feel my head spinning... it's like my head is getting so light that it's floating away from my body...
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When I start to regain the feeling in my body again, I open my eyes as fast as I can... but it's like I didn't open them at all. I see nothing but black, all around me in every direction... is this the inside of an unconscious mind? Am I in Claus' mind? I decide the best way to find out is the call out to him. "Claus! Are you in here!" I yell out into the darkness.
"Lucas...?"
I spin on the heel of my shoe as fast as my body can, towards the source of the voice. And there he is, not even three feet away from me. Looking almost like a mirror image of me, wearing a t-shirt of blue and yellow stripes and denim shorts that match my own completely. Green eyes instead of blue, and orange hair done up into a spike instead of my swirl... with a gradually-widening grin on his face.
"It is you, Lucas!"
"Claus!"
My body practically moves by itself, running towards him as he runs towards me. We run up to each other and hug each other, trying to see if this is real or not. At least he feels real enough. And I can feel his mind... it's not distorted at all, not controlled at all. There is no doubt in my mind. This is definitely my brother. "Oh my God, Lucas, it's been so long... how are you doing, bro? Are you alright?"
"Ahh... m-more or less..." I reply, not sure how to respond to the question. Not just because it's a shock to see my brother again after so long, but because of my mental condition...
"More or less. Don't worry, what's-her-name told me everything already." Claus tells me, and I sigh with relief in that I don't have to explain anything. We break the hug, and I look at him in the eyes... there's a definite struggle between both happiness and sorrow. "I wish this reunion was timed better..."
"So do I... so do I..." I agree. Regrettably, there was no time to get caught up on past events. There was no indication of how much time we would have. "We need your help, Claus."
"Like I said, she told me." The discussion turns serious then. "I'm sure I know what you're going to ask... but go ahead anyway."
I breathe out of my nose and calm myself down. There was only one question I could think to ask right now. "Who's doing this to you, Claus? Who disturbed your rest and took control of you?"
"You're not going to believe it." he says. "It's the Dark Dragon."
I blink. "What...?"
"Seriously, I'm not making this up." He assures me. "The one messing with my body is the Dragon of Darkness we woke up."
My emotions change from raw disbelief to unbridled rage. The Dragon of Darkness... the dragon that was sleeping under my old home, that was supposed to reset the world when I woke it up with my pure-at-the-time heart... that's the one responsible for this! I can't stop myself from growling or my fists from shaking. The beast I woke up from its forced slumber at Nowhere Island, the one that was supposed to save us all, was the mysterious third trying to kill me! Suddenly most of that – excuse my language here – bullshit happening at the manor made sense. "The Dragon... of course..." I mutter, loud enough for Claus to hear. "That thing in the sky that blasted the manor looked like a dragon..."
"Sounds like you already figured it out." Claus said. "When the kid with the red cap blasted my body back with the Franklin Badge, the Dragon got nervous and tried blasting you itself. And damn, I was worrying my head off! I didn't think it could miss!"
Now that I know the cause of that laser blast, I'm a bit surprised myself. "I know... I was lucky. I'm not sure how, but I felt it coming in my demonic form..."
"Geez... and everyone says black magic causes nothing but trouble. Sounds like it saved your life." Claus jokes... though he is a bit surprised too. Then he starts rubbing the back of his head with his right hand and continues, "But I don't know what happened after that... I saw the blast come down, and everything went black..."
Huh... looks like I have to fill in a few blanks for my brother, too. "Yeah... we're not sure what happened either." I say. "A bunch of land just broke off, rose up, encased the Dragon and then dropped it on the manor."
He stares at me. "...What."
"Honest to goodness, I'm not joking." I reply quickly, making a "cross my heart" motion with my hand. "I was hoping you could shed some light on that, too."
"...Huh." Claus breathes out, removing his hand from his head and putting it on his chin. "I'm... not sure what to say about that, actually... but I'm fairly sure that wasn't the Dragon's doing, if that's what you're thinking; wouldn't it make more sense to just pack the land together and drop it instead of putting it all over itself?"
Actually, the Dragon manipulating the land hadn't crossed my mind before, even though it might have made some kind of sense... a dragon with the power to reset the world is definitely not just another creature, so it might be possible. But I quickly see Claus' point; hell, if it could manipulate land like that, then it might as well have ripped the entirety of Master Hand's world apart. It certainly didn't seem to care about what happened to the others present. "Then what the hell happened?"
Claus simply shrugged in response and said, "Search me, bro. All I know is that the fall weakened it's power over me, but it's definitely not dead... I can feel it trying to get into my mind..."
"Yeah... Paula told me something like that." I say sadly, making it all too obvious that I'm sorry for him.
"Don't worry, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal." Claus says, suddenly chipper. "It looks like it can't do anything to me while my body is out cold, so all you need to do is make sure I don't wake up! Simple, right?"
For a minute, all I can do is stare at my brother incredulously. "You... don't mind staying this way?"
"Eh, well..." Claus trails off, but he quickly recovers. "It's true, I'd like to have my body back to myself again... but it's not worth it if I'm just going to hurt people. And besides..." His grin suddenly turns sinister. "If the Dragon gets pissed off because it, then I can wait a long time..."
I can't help but smile at his antics; don't get mad, get even. That's my brother alright. "Deep down, you're still the same old Claus..." I chuckle.
His reply is a cackle. "Forever and always!" He proclaims, placing his hands on his hips and trying to strike a superior pose. "Ain't no way that Dragon is getting the best of me!"
"Heh... me neither." I say, feeling pepped up by Claus' courage. "You know... talking with you here, now... it kind've makes me feel like everything I've been through was worth it."
"Heh..." Claus rubs under his nose. "Don't stop until you see things through to the end. That's the way we do things, right?"
"Call it stupid if you want, but you'll never find the truth if you quit." I say... and as I do, I feel a bit of nostalgia. I remember when we were younger, before we were thrust out into our adventures... that was our philosophy on life. And we'd said it ourselves, in those exact words. "I remember that... and I've never forgotten it. That and the support of my friends are the only things that got me this far."
"That'a boy." Claus says. "Looks like my bro is all grown up." I blush and smile sheepishly... I don't honestly think I've grown that much... "Anything else you want to ask me? It's probably bad for you to spend all day in here."
Unfortunately, Claus is right... I may be feeling alright now, but I'd rather not take my chances. "Yeah, you're right... can I ask you one last thing then?"
"Go right ahead."
I'm not sure if he'll know anything about this, but... it's worth a shot. "When the Dragon was controlling you, it... well, it vaporized Master Hand, saying something about 'protecting secrets...'" I inform him. "Do you have any idea what that could mean?"
"Ahh... all it ever said to me was 'Lucas must die, he can't be allowed to fall into Shadow's hands,' or some crap like that. Next thing I know, I'm stuck in here, watching the damn thing strut around in my body." He explains. "I'm drawing a blank here. Sorry, bro."
"No... it's alright." I say, trying not to sound disappointed... which isn't that hard. In fact, I'm actually getting a little excited since I know what this will mean. "It just means I'll have to have a little 'chat' with it."
He slowly nods and smiles with an understanding. "Just be careful, Lucas. And smack that son of a bitch once for me."
"Oh, I will." I tell him. "And once more for everyone in Tazmily."
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Then, with no transition effect other than a sudden wave of dizziness, I am back in the medical ward. I'm no longer staring at my brother, but at Paula's curious face. I try to shake the disorientation out of my head... "How was it? Are you feeling alright?" she asks me, concerned.
"I'm okay, just a little dizzy." I tell her. In fact, I'm feeling ecstatic right now. I suppose that's to be expected after talking to a family member who was supposed to be dead, and seemed to be in good health, only not trying to kill me this time. And on top of that, I finally know who dared to disturbed my brother's rest.
Paula blinks at me from across my brother's unconscious body... although it might not be accurate to call it his body anymore. That's a problem I'm going to have to correct. "...Why are you smiling?" She asks me.
I happily answer her. "Because Claus just solved our dead end problem for us."
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It was quite a bit of explaining I had to do before the situation was made clear to everyone, not just to the people in the medical wing with me, but to everyone present on the Halberd. I could tell that for most of the people, learning that our next opponent in this crazy adventure I'd unwittingly thrust them into was a Dragon of Darkness the size of a small continent with mind-controlling powers... it didn't fill them with a great deal of confidence. But to my utter amazement, no one here was truly deterred; in fact they all had reasons for wanting to stand against the Dragon. Most wanted revenge for what it did to their home, others were curious as to why it would go so far as to destroy Master Hand and endanger so many worlds, and me... including the previous motivations, I wanted to know why it wanted me dead. This Dragon, that I resurrected so that it would turn my world into a paradise... why is it doing the exact opposite and trying to eradicate every last shred of life from it instead? The restoration of my world was all that I wished for... I know that for sure. I had made sure my conscience was clear of any ill will before I pulled the last of the seven needles. So... why?
I am going to find the truth. I don't care if my opponent is Master Hand, or the Dragon, or Shadow or whoever the hell else. I'll go through every last one of them and discover the truth!
And so, the Halberd is abuzz with battle preparations once again. Repairs weren't an issue, since the only weapons fired upon it during the battle with the Alloys were scorch marks and dents. Any damage was cosmetic, and Meta Knight was confident that his pride and joy would be good for another skirmish within the hour. I felt none of the fear that Ness said he'd experienced, but instead a renewed confidence from the Kirby-like swordsman. It didn't seem to matter to him that his enemy was a Dragon... I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Meta Knight seeks to fight the strongest beings he can find, so this situation must be as exciting to him as it is to me.
During the wait, Smashers and Assistants who had apparently faced off against dragons in the past had seen fit to throw in their two cents. Gathered comfortably in the common room, they shared their stories. The least surprising tales were from Samus about her arch-nemesis Ridley, a "Space Dragon" that seemed to come back to life either physically or through robotics no matter how many times she got rid of it. Another story was from an Assistant named Issac, an orange-haired, teenage swordsman wearing mostly yellow and black clothing. In exhibition matches, he uses his magic – which he calls "Synergy" – to fire off a series of giant hands to push people off of the arena. In his adventures, he apparently had to fight dragons formed through the use of this Synergy. He was hesitant to reveal anything else, though. Even the unassuming Mario had faced off against dragons before, three on the same adventure. And the most surprising story to me was that Lyn, the Sacean woman who once helped to lead an army in a time of war, had slain a dragon of fire. All of these people offered the same wisdom: when fighting dragons, aim for the head.
The prospect of the Dragon we may soon have to confront, despite the blatantly obvious size advantage it had over the others that they described, didn't frighten them. If this problem does turn violent – and it probably will considering the Dragon's motive – everyone was willing to fight on, despite that this would be unlike any challenge the Smashers had ever faced before. It was really awe-inspiring... even if I was thrust into Master Hand's world against my will, I don't regret having become one of these people.
By the time the story-telling came to an end, preparations were complete. All the Smashers were ready, the Meta Knights were determined to fight and fall alongside their master, and most surprisingly, Snake's Philanthropy group had decided to stay and fight as well. Meta Knight had invited me to the bridge to join him, though he didn't tell me why. I brought Lyn, Ness and Paula with me. Sabata was also on the bridge already.
"Wow... I don't think I've ever been up here before..." I say as I take in the sights. Despite the Halberd's elegant design, the bridge actually seems quite simple. The colour scheme is the same as the common room. The entire room is flat, with the exception of five control panels risen out of the floor; two in the centre, two wider ones at the front and at the end, and one with a basic naval steering wheel in the middle of all of them. To put it into perspective, if you drew a line to each, you would make an "M" shape. I'm not sure whether this was intentional or not... these terminals are manned attentively by Meta Knights, with their leader standing in the middle of the bridge along with Sabata. The viewing window for the bridge is, I think, the visor of the giant mask decoration on the front of the ship.
"Ness, don't touch anything." Paula says quickly.
"I wasn't going to!" he quickly defends himself, but I can hear him mutter in discontent afterward.
"Lucas, welcome to the bridge." Meta Knight greeted me after turning to face me.
"Umm... th-thank you." I reply, caught a little off guard by his sudden show of manners. "It's not every day you invite people up here, I think..."
"I figured it was necessary." He says. "This is your fight most of all, so I thought you should be here for it."
I nod in reply... I'm glad somebody realizes that this situation is most important to me. "And what about you, Sabata?" I address him. "Aren't you staying in San Miguel?"
He shrugs and replies, "Not until I've seen this 'Dragon' for myself. And besides, if it's a creature of darkness like its title says, you'll need my help."
Drawing his power from darkness himself, I suppose there was no one here more qualified than Sabata to help us out. Well... the only other person I can think of is Ganondorf, a Smasher and nemesis of Link and Princess Zelda. From their world, he is called the "King of Evil," which makes me wonder how he became a Smasher... but there's no one better for dealing with dark magic, since he employs it himself. But he was away on a mission since before I had first ran away from the manor, to see what became of my old home, and hasn't returned since... now that I think of it, so was Red; he's a Pokémon Trainer. In his world, while some Pokémon roam in the wild and are independent like Mewtwo, some are captured by Pokémon Trainers and used in battle. That's how Red fights, by using his trusting Pokémon. We became great friends during the Subspace incident... it would probably break his heart to learn what I've been going through. Since the manor is destroyed and the transportation system along with it, we'll have to find both Red and Ganondorf eventually...
But I'm straying off topic. "I'm glad you're here to help." I thank him.
He nods and says, "Django said hello, too. He wishes he could come too, but he's still recovering..."
"No, that's totally alright." I say. "Besides, I'm sure with everyone still here, we'll be ready for anything the Dragon throws at us."
"Sir Meta Knight!" The shout of one of the Meta Knights interrupts the conversation. "All systems are at 100% We're ready to open the interdimensional wormhole at your command!"
Everyone is at attention when they hear that update. There would be no turning back after we crossed between worlds... Meta Knight turns to me and says, "Are you ready?"
My response is simple and quick: "Yes, I am." But what about the others? I turn to them and ask, "Are you guys ready?"
"Always." Lyn says, nodding with a smile.
"A date with an island-sized Dragon? Sounds like a great day to me!" Ness exclaims with a cheesy grin.
"If Ness is going, then so am I." Paula says.
I looked at Meta Knight, and he grunted in approval. "Everyone on board was given the order to leave and stay in San Miguel if they didn't want to join this fight, and no one did as far as I know. It seems everyone is willing to help us." He turns to face out the window. "So let's not keep them waiting. Prepare the wormhole!"
"Yes, Sir Meta Knight!" his armoured soldiers reply in unison.
Not even a moment later, sparks and crackles of white electricity began to fly in front of the window, coming from either corner of it, or at least that's what I could see of it. Truthfully I didn't know exactly how the Halberd crossed between dimensions, but I begin to see when the unnatural lightning begins to collect in a spot directly in front of us, starting to rotate counter-clockwise like a tornado on its side. There was nowhere to go but onward now. Claus... Mom... Dad... and everyone in Tazmily... I'm going to avenge you now. I'm going to find the truth about why you all had to die because of a being that was supposed to save us all...
"Sir Meta Knight, time-space event detected off to starboard!" Wails one of the knights.
"Pardon?" he replies.
Then, everything is dark in the bridge. The control panel lights and the ceiling have completely turned off, accompanied by a hum gradually lowering in pitch... like something was powering down. The only source of illumination is the white vortex outside which, without its energy source from the Halberd, quickly dissipates and is replaced by the orange, setting sun. Then, as quickly as it happened, all of the lights turn back on and the hum goes back to a higher pitch.
"Uhh... that's normal, right?" Ness asks slowly. "...Right?"
"Report!" Meta Knight demands.
All of the armoured, miniature soldiers are typing frantically at their control panels. "I-I don't know what's happened! The system has completely locked me out!"
"Me too!" "My buttons aren't working either!" "What trickery is this!"
A deep growl from Meta Knight shows that he does not approve of this situation. "What the devil just happened?"
Great, of course this would happen just before we get underway... can't these people do anything right?
Again, I ignore the voice as best as I can.
Then, a noise forces its way through all of the panicked yelling of the Meta Knights. It sounds like... static, very loud static. I try to trace where it's coming from, and it turns out to be two large speakers on either side of the bridge's ceiling. Then a click is heard, and then... an insane cackling that I've grown all too familiar with.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slam on the breaks, Meta Knight, it's time for an intervention!"
That... voice... not him... not now! My head jerks up as I see something noisily pushing out of the ceiling... I only need one glance at it to see that it's a large television screen. "What is the meaning of this? Who activated the main viewer!" Meta Knight roared.
"It wasn't me, I can't do anything from here!" replied one of his Meta Knights. All of them repeated things along the same lines.
"Sorry to crash the party-to-be... but I'm afraid you have more urgent matters to attend to first." The main viewer fully extended from the ceiling, and an image flickered into existence on its screen. The face of the one who thrust me into this crazy journey in the first place. "You look well, Lucas..."
Rage. Pure rage, that's the only thing I could possibly be feeling right now. "Shadow..." I say his name through gritted teeth. Why... why him, why now? He couldn't have picked a worse time to start screwing things up!
"Oh man, not this guy again!" Ness whined.
"So... that's the one... the one who drove Lucas to madness..." Lyn says, a deep anger evident in her otherwise docile voice.
"That little punk? That's the Eternal you guys were fussing over?" Sabata said, not quite convinced.
"That's right, Dark Boy." Shadow confirms for him, sporting his trademark, face-splitting grin. "You should be thankful for even seeing my face, because if Eggman Nega had done his job right back at San Miguel, you'd be dead right now..."
Sabata was now as angry as the rest of us. "Why you...!" he seethes, his fist shaking.
"What trickery is this! Return control of my ship this instant!" Meta Knight demanded.
"No can do, my ball-shaped friend." Shadow replies with a sneer. "I'm afraid I have to postpone your date with the Dragon of Darkness indefinitely... though it's not like I have anything against you going back there, it's just that now that both it and Master Hand are out of commission, I have to advance my plans." he explains. "I could wait until you're done with it of course – or until it's done with you, rather – but... I don't like to be kept waiting when there's no reason to be. Plus I was bored and hijacking your ride was fun."
"Pompous knave!" Meta Knight insulted him.
"Shadow, what the hell do you want?" I say to him. "I am not in the mood for your bullshit right now."
He puts his hands up to his chest, like a fangirl making that irritating "Squee!" noise. "Ooh, you've developed quite an attitude!" he says, before chuckling again and lowering his arms. "Guess I'll have to adjust it then... you'll change your tune when you see what I picked up the other day..." He moves out of view... there's something, no, someone behind him, flailing around in a black space...
"Princia!" I scream in horror. Her hairstyle is nonexistent at the moment, but I can tell that it is indeed her. She's being suspended in the air by nothing but a large chain tying her wrists together, and her mouth is gagged with... it looks like a golf ball. As I shout her name, she stops struggling and looks in my direction. She tries to say something, I think it's my name, but I can't tell clearly because of the gag.
Shadow quickly steps back into view, blocking my view of her. "Now that I've got your attention..." There's nothing I can say in response, other than growl at him like a tiger eager for its next meal. "You can't see it with the camera angle, but your dear Princess is suspended over a vat or broiling, molten lead. Think of what happens when some moron sticks his hand in a deep fryer... molten lead is at least twice as bad." His mad grin returns. "So unless you want your friend to become a pile of bubbling goo, you'll do as I say."
"You... blackheart..." Lyn gasps, at a definite loss for words.
"...What do you want..." I say, trying to contain both my rage and my concern for Princia. The Dragon will have to wait... I can't leave her with him! "Just tell me what you want!"
"He he he! Thought you'd see things my way." Shadow cackles. "First, I want you to clear off everyone who isn't a Smasher or Assistant, and make sure your whole dead organization is on board. That means no Philanthropy, no Meta Knights, and no Paula. Yes, I can see you hiding behind your boyfriend."
I look back to see that, indeed, Paula is hiding behind Ness. Their response to this term is a scowl.
"Second, I've left some coordinates in the Halberd's transportation system. Once only you guys are on board, you'll follow those coordinates. And make damn sure everyone is where they should be, because I will know if you have any stowaways or if anyone is missing. And lastly, once you arrive, you're to drop off Lucas and Lyndis and only Lucas and Lyndis at my doorstep; you'll see where. You're allowed to take off after that, but you can't actually leave the world or stray too far." he finishes explaining, and then grins wickedly. "Break even one condition in the slightest way, and Princia will die."
"M-me?" Lyn stammers, as confused as I am about why she would be asked to come along with me. I had a distinct feeling I'd be going, but her too? "Why me?"
"You'll find out~" Shadow replies in a singsong voice, before suddenly turning serious. "And don't dawdle! You've only got one hour to show up here. Throw your excess weight out the windows and drag your former comrades on board kicking and screaming if you have to, just get here on time! I know a few unsavoury beings who would enjoy human soup..."
He grins again, and then the video feed cuts out. The lights flicker for a quick second, and the Meta Knights attend to their control panels. "Control has been restored..." one of them says, without the vigor from before. No one else speaks, too shocked by the sudden turn of events. The small knight turns to his leader and asks, "Your orders, Sir Meta Knight...?"
Evidently at a loss for what to do, he turns to me as if asking me. As much as I wanted to go back to Master Hand's world and find out the truth... I can't just leave her.
I say, with much regret, "Do as he said..."
A/N: Shadow's begun his big play... but I promise you, shit has only begun to hit the fan. I promised you over the next two chapters everything would be made clear, and that has not changed. You don't want to miss it... and then, you'll see just how terrible the villain really is...
Read and review, ladies and gents!