DarkFoxKit: *Is looking at a small, toy house* Hey, how long are you going to sleep in that tiny bed?
Donfyre: *his tiny voice could be heard* Whaaaat? It's cozy! And I'm tired!
DarkFoxKit: Come ooooon! You've been in that house for a week, the readers are waiting for us to update! DX
Donfyre: *eventually walks out of the house, grumbling* Well, maybe you shouldn't have shrunk me for "fun". *looks at the camera* Heya readers! Welcome back to the first chapter of Part 6!
DarkFoxKit: I didn't shrink you, you drank that shrinking potion I put on the table. And hey readers, we needed a break last week and this is the final Part of the story. It's hard to believe that the story's coming to an end, right? And uh… don't mind the ant sized Fyre here, he should be back to normal soon… I hope.
Donfyre: You hope? DX And hey, even if I maybe drank that potion without permission, what were you doing with a shrink potion in the first place?
DarkFoxKit: … Nooooothing suspicious… *shifts eyes* Erm… h-hey, why don't you go make yourself some breakfast in your tiny kitchen? I'm gonna answer back the reviews before we have a rampage from angry fans who didn't like waiting another week.
Donfyre: *looks at Fox suspiciously before heading back into the house* Alriiiiight… Well, you have fun managing that then! :P
DarkFoxKit: *Is pouting*
Shimo no ko: Hee, hee, hee, cute fluff. :3 Yeah, most people believed I would've waited until near the end of the story to reveal Claus, but nah, it's always been my plan to reveal him at the sixth Needle. I'm glad to know you were rooting for Claus, because honestly I kinda was too when we wrote this battle scene. XD And Claus really didn't want to admit his identity, after three years of keeping it a secret, was revealed. And yup, Magicant plays an important role between these two brothers, plus it was a shame it wasn't used in the actual game. Glad you're enjoying this! :D
Sunflowermaiden210: Getting emotionally invested, are we? Good, that means we're doing a good job. :3
FanofFiction123: Title's pretty exciting, huh? Wow, really? I'd love to have the Masked Man in a Smash Bros game myself! :D Thank you! And yup, the reveal happened. Hee, hee, hee, a mess huh? That would've been fun to see. X3 And now, because of Undertale, the word 'determination' will trigger the fandom. This part was written long before Undertale was a game. ^^' And we're glad you enjoyed this a lot. XD
Karnelian: Yes, yes it has. The question now is… will Claus be able to handle it?
Bloxxerstudios1: Sorry, but I update at my own pace. So ya gotta deal with cliffhangers. :3
Joltik12: You and just about everyone else had been hyping it up. ^^' As for your questions… 1. Not too much longer, this is the last Part after all. 2. Donfyre's a great writer, he's just really busy with school and his life. He's worked hard with me for the past couple of years, so please be a little more appreciated towards him. 3. There's a fan game of Mother 4 in the making, so most likely it'll be on the computer if they ever finish it.
crazyone-oh-one: Character growth is something I love working on. And thank you for your support!
DarkFoxKit: Welp, that's everyone. *looks back at the toy house* Hey, are you burning something in there? Where did you get pancake batter that small? In fact how are you even cooking with a plastic frying pan?
Donfyre: *a small section of the house suddenly burst into flames… and more… until the house was engulfed in flames! Fyre jumped out through one of the windows* Oof! O-oh, you're finished already! I'm almost finished with my meal, as you can see. *looks back at the house* Those huge flames should, uh… tenderize the batter nicely. That's… how it works, right?
DarkFoxKit: … *uses the fire extinguisher to put out the fire* … Let's… put you in a safer environment. *picks up the small Fyre and put him on my head* Until next time, everyone, I am DarkFoxKit, and hopefully we can get Donfyre here back to normal size by the next AN… and we look forward to hearing from you!
Chapter 37: Reunited
It felt cold for a while… dark and lonely… I could hear them… I could hear their voices, their rejection and hatred. They know who I am now… I can't hide it… I'm nothing but a monster to them. What am I going to do now? Once the Pigmasks find out that I pulled three of the seven Needles, I can never go back to them. And now I can't even go home… I just curled into a tight ball in this dark and lonely place, it's fitting for someone who's sunk lower than rock bottom… Strange… it felt like it got brighter and a little warmer…
I didn't know what was happening… And I didn't really know if I liked it either. I wanted to be alone in the dark, but everything just got brighter and a little more colorful around me, along with that warmth. I was in… a town? The buildings were really tall and large though, but there weren't that many. Only a few buildings here and there. Everything was getting brighter, and now I was standing in… a familiar sunflower field. But the buildings were still here. What was a large sunflower field doing in the middle of this town?
I don't remember how I got here… but I rather go back to that dark and lonely place… it's what I deserve after all. I sat near the outskirts of the sunflower field town I was in and saw a few wilted sunflowers here. Good, I want them to wilt so I can go back to my cold solitude… I thought I would be alone here… until I heard footsteps coming up behind me. Great, now what?
"Claus… why are you sitting here? It's not very nice-looking here." It was a very familiar voice, the one whom I dreaded to hear. Lucas.
Maybe if I remain still and quiet, he'll go away. Or maybe he'll just go ahead and make fun of me now and get it over with. Either way I just stayed quiet in my curled up position.
"... Claus? Um… are you alright? I guess I can sit with you here if you really like it that much here." Lucas sat down right next to me, also curled up. Why was he here with me like this? Was he thinking about the ways he should hate me after knowing what I've done? I just looked away from him when he looked at me.
"Um… Claus? You really were the commander that entire time, weren't you? I thought it might have been… but I still didn't know if it was really you until…" Lucas trailed off. I can still feel him looking at my back, as if waiting for me to say something.
I rather just stay silent, but if I don't speak up now then I may never get this off my chest… and knowing my brother, he'll stay with me until I do say something at least.
"Lucas… don't you hate me?" I asked him quietly.
His tone sounded worried when he responded. "N-no, of course not, Claus. Why would I hate my own brother? That would be mean of me."
"Because I'm the commander of your enemies. WE are enemies, Lucas. I tried to hurt you back there. I didn't hold back! You SHOULD hate me!" I hadn't realized I was talking louder until I was almost shouting at that point.
"W-well…" Lucas still sounded worried. "You must have had a good reason, right? Like all those things you told me about wanting to protect this world. I don't blame you for that if you really believed in it. Besides, it was mainly Kumatora who blamed you."
I sighed as I looked away from Lucas. "Don't you get it, Lucas? I've lied to you for years. I've lied to you about not being able to use PSI, that I wasn't really doing anything big, that I was only the 'waterboy' and I kept disappearing on you. Everything I did, I did it to save this world and the people in it, or that's what I keep telling myself…" I picked up a patch of dirt and squeezed it in my hand. "... But… I guess maybe the real reason I joined was because… I wanted to do something great in my life…"
Lucas didn't really say anything for a while. Maybe he finally realized how much of a horrible person I am and he just didn't want to say it out loud. His voice was quiet when he finally did respond. "Um… C-Claus… were you, um, really that jealous of me? All the times you kept telling me that people think I'm the better brother and all that… was it because you were jealous and then you joined the Pigmasks to be that something great?"
I looked down at the river below… why was there a river here? I didn't remember seeing one… Regardless, the river was very clear and I could see my reflection in it. I was back in my casual clothing again. My robotic arm and synthetic eye were all organic again. Yup, this is definitely Magicant.
"Lucas, you're younger than me by two minutes, but you did everything before me. You were always so kind and ready to help someone, people admired you for that. When I tried to help, they all just said it's because you influenced me. I was only the other twin, the Lucas twin brother to them. I wasn't Claus at all. I didn't have my own identity in the world. So I tried being more outgoing and a bit of a troublemaker even though I don't really like causing trouble, it was the only way to get people to stop looking at me as the other twin. Mom always said you were the smart and sweet one and I was the logical and strong one. It was my duty to protect you, yet it always seems to be the other way around." I can't even believe I'm saying all this to him now.
Lucas looked down for a little bit, also looking down at the river. I wondered what was really going on in his head… Maybe he's just trying to cheer me up when he's actually thinking about different things. "That's not true, Claus… You really did help me a lot. Even if maybe other didn't people see, I still saw it. You were really an older brother that I looked up to a lot… Sometimes I would hate myself for being so shy when you can be so active."
"People like your shy nature." I pointed out. "And besides… you've made a lot of friends, Lucas. Friends you could rely on way more than you could've ever relied on me. They've stuck with you throughout this journey of yours, while I've been by myself. The army tried to help me, but in the end I had to face all four of you alone, and it terrified me. I hated being on opposite sides, sometimes I wish I could've been a part of your group Lucas, but I know I can never be…" I felt something wet falling from my cheek… no… I can't be crying… not like this, not in front of Lucas!
"C-Claus…" Lucas said. It sounded like he might be getting sad too… but what was he getting sad for? He has everything… everything that someone could want… "Y-you said you had PSI but was hiding it from us, right? W-well… why didn't you tell me? We could have… we could've been able to be together on the same side!"
"I can't… I couldn't…" I looked away from him, not wanting him to see my face like this. "By the time I awakened my PSI… I was… I joined the Pigmask army and they made me promise not to tell you or anyone else. Because nobody would understand what they're trying to do, everyone would be against them and against me if they ever find out. I couldn't tell you Lucas… I knew you'd hate me for it."
Lucas was silent again. A few long moments passed and he still didn't say anything. I just kept looking into the river, at the reflection of what could have been if things were different… Maybe if Fassad had never found me with my PSI, or maybe one of those other Magypsies had noticed me then I could have been with Lucas instead… I felt more damp things moving down my face… I didn't want to cry, not here, but…
Lucas finally hugged me after all that silence, catching me by surprise. He was sniffling to himself… was he crying too? "I-I'm sorry, Claus… that all of that happened to you… b-but I don't hate you, I really don't… Even though you had to do all those things to us."
"Why don't you? And even if you don't… I'm sure everyone else will… Dad, Boney, Duster, heck I'd be surprised if Kumatora DIDN'T all out hate me right now." I frowned at him. "I've pulled three Needles… the Pigmasks… if they ever find out… I can never go back to them. I… Lucas… I don't know what else to do… I just feel so lost and alone right now." Why am I telling him this? This isn't something I should say to him! And yet I can't stop myself… this happens every time I'm in Magicant with him, I can't keep anything a secret.
"Boney will forgive you. I'm sure he will…" Lucas responded quietly. "And Duster's pretty forgiving, and if I talk to Kumatora enough I'm sure she'll forgive you… y-you could… always travel with us… But do you still really believe that the Needles shouldn't be pulled?"
I looked over to him, that kind of question didn't seem to have a right answer to it. "Why do you think we should pull the Needles, Lucas?" I answered his question with my own.
Lucas obviously didn't expect this, judging from the surprised look on his face. "Huh? Oh well… the world is falling apart, the Magypsies told me that. And since you're with the Pigmasks I'm sure you've seen it too. I just… I just believe that the Dark Dragon is really the only way to help everyone. And if I really believe in it, I'm sure that it won't kill off everyone else…"
"Is that what the Magypsies told you?" I asked him. Lucas blinked before nodding to me. "The Dark Dragon has incredible power, Lucas, but don't you think maybe there was a reason why it was put to sleep and locked away with all these Needles in the first place? What do you think will happen to the old world once it starts to create a new one in its place? In order to create a new world… the old one must go first, along with everyone in it. In other words… it'll be the end of the world, no ifs ands or buts about it."
Lucas frowned. "Did the Pigmasks tell you that? Where did you learn about that?"
"Actually a Magypsy told me that," I answered. "But he didn't tell me all that specifically, I just looked at it from a logical standpoint. The Dragon will have to destroy this world before it can be reborn. How would it spare anyone once the world is destroyed? Nobody can be spared. That's why the Pigmasks have been working hard to try and rebuild the world themselves, it's our only way to survive."
"But… if a Magypsy told you that, then you probably know that the Dark Dragon will assume the heart of the person who pulls the Needles. I-I'm sure… I'm sure that it'll spare everyone if I really put my mind into it when pulling the Needles… it's the one thing I silently ask for when I pull them…" Lucas protested. I started to doubt that he would be persuaded any other way… Never knew him to be the stubborn type, then again he must've inherited something from our father.
"Yes, I am aware of that, Lucas," I told him. "However, I just don't see it happening. I don't see how it's at all possible to spare the lives of people living on the world that it has to destroy. And besides… what would happen if I did pull more Needles than you? It wouldn't matter in the end… we'd all be dead. I suppose one good thing would be is that we'll reunite with Mom again…"
"D-don't say that, Claus!" Lucas suddenly said loudly with a small frown on his face. "You just… just have to believe the Dark Dragon can save everyone. I'm sure it will, I've been believing in it since I was asked to pull these Needles."
"Heh… you've always had more hope in your spirit than I did, Lucas," I chuckled at him with a sad smile on my face. "It was another thing I envied about you. Maybe you're right, maybe the Dragon will spare everyone somehow. But I also can't let go of my own beliefs either… I'm worried that it'll just kill us all before it rebirths the world," I sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter… I can't exactly be the commander or a part of the Pigmasks anymore…"
Lucas didn't say anything. He still kept hugging me but didn't say anything for a long time. We just sat near in this field of wilted sunflowers looking at the river and the town that had the sunflower field. After a while of this, Lucas finally said something. "So…. what are you going to do now then? You can… you still have a place travelling with us… I'd really like it and probably Boney too, and I'm sure Duster and Kumatora won't mind if I talk to them…"
"I don't know… I was thinking about just going to the city and see if Fas- Wait…" My eyes went wide when I remembered something. "Lucas, you guys found me unconscious? And oh dear… is Fassad okay? Are the Pigmasks at the base okay? Did they survive? What happened to them?"
"H-huh?" Lucas looked confused at all this. "Um… I-I don't know, I remember Dad saying something about helping to transport them over to that New Pork City place… Why do you ask?"
I looked down worriedly. "Because… the last time I saw them… was before I went to Tanetane Island… the entire base was destroyed. All the Pigmasks were badly injured, and even Fassad… I only saw Dr. Andonuts approaching him with tools, but I didn't see what happened to him." Then I looked at him again. "And you all found me unconscious? Oh my heavens! Kumatora's gonna KILL ME!" I wasn't kidding either, I was genuinely panicking that I let myself be vulnerable to someone so dangerous like that.
"H-hey, it's alright Claus! I told the three others, Boney, Duster, and Kumatora to make sure we don't get hurt while we're both asleep. They'll take care of us, I promise," Lucas said. I calmed down a little bit, but I was still wary that I'd be attacked in my sleep either way. "So… that's why you really went to Tanetane Island then… and the reason you washed up on the beach where Dad found you was after you tried to run away from us…"
I flinched at that as I remembered I did panicked and ran away from him. "I-I'm sorry Lucas… I… I just didn't want you to know that I was the commander… that I was your enemy… You… I thought you hated me, and wanted to kill yourself because of what I did. It was a hallucination, but it scared me so much that I thought you really would do that if you ever found out." I found myself hugging him without really meaning to. I didn't want to let him go in fear that he would disappear all of a sudden. "I don't want you to die Lucas! Especially because of me!"
"Wah!" Lucas exclaimed. He looked surprised at first but quickly returned the hug. "I-it's okay Claus, really. At least now you know that I really don't hate you, you don't have to keep hating yourself. I forgive you and I'm sure everyone else will."
"But how do you know that anyone else will? I was a part of the enemy, or so they think. I hurt them and you, how could you just forgive me like that?" I wanted to pull out of the hug, but I didn't want to let Lucas go. "It's pretty much over for me."
Lucas was still hugging me tightly. "W-well… no one but the Pigmasks has to know it was you… And I already said before; the other three will forgive you if I talk to them. Just look, Kumatora hasn't even hurt you even after all this time in Magicant."
"She's probably planning to get her revenge on me once I wake up," I said bitterly. "Lucas… once we leave Magicant… are you still going to pull that Needle in the temple?"
Lucas stayed silent for a moment, but he eventually responded with a simple answer, and one that I wasn't surprised to hear. "... Yes."
I sighed as I managed to pull back from the hug and looked back down at the river. It was almost unusual seeing my reflection like this after spending so much time as the Commander, I almost look like a stranger to myself. Whatever happened to that innocent and carefree boy who just loved playing with his brother on a sunny day?
When I hadn't given an answer back to Lucas, he put his hand on my shoulder. He most likely already knows that I still don't want him to pull the Needle.
"I'm… um, I'm sorry Claus… I know you don't want me to pull it, but I still feel like I have to… What are you going to do? A-are you… still going to try and stop me?" Lucas's voice sounded down and worried. I also knew that he still didn't want us to keep on fighting…
I couldn't help but give a humorless chuckle at that. "You know what, Lucas? I'm tired of it all. I'm tired of being the Commander, I'm tired of always having to travel everywhere, I'm tired of trying to keep a dying world safe, I'm tired of us fighting. I just want everything to go back to the way it was before Mom died…"
Lucas looked a little confused at my response, maybe he wasn't expecting it. Either way, he still looked down at the river too a little sadly. "Yeah… I think everyone wants that… Everyone in Tazmily missed her after… t-that… Maybe… maybe it'll all go back to that soon, Claus."
I felt him holding my hand with his own. I looked over at him and frowned, "How? Nothing's the same anymore. I'm not the same carefree boy who always tried to drag you out of bed to get you to play with me outside. I've been training, for the last three years, as the commanding officer of a military. Everyone's moving to New Pork City and I wouldn't be surprised if nobody other than you even trusted me anymore."
"You… really missed those days that much, Claus? I missed it too… a lot." Lucas said. He was still holding my hand, more tightly now. "It's kind of one of the only things I think about… B-but if the Needles are pulled… we can go back to how it was like before, just us having fun like we used to… and if you say I shouldn't pull them… then what then? Everyone will still be working and doing boring things every day, all just to earn this 'money' stuff… I kind of just want everything to be back to how it was like to, where everyone was happy with each other, and there weren't jobs, and everyone didn't get greedy, and…. and…"
I looked over at him. Was he… crying too?
"Lucas… why are you crying?" I asked him in a surprisingly gentle tone. I hadn't had to use a gentle tone in such a long time that I thought I've forgotten how to.
"S-sorry Claus… It just all came back to me again… I thought about how M-Mom died again and all those times when I would sit by her grave a-and-" he choked on his words, wiping his eyes. "Sorry… but it's also why I do wanna pull those Needles… everything could go back to how it used to… m-maybe Mom might not be there… but we could still live to how everything was before Tazmily started to change."
"Pulling those Needles are a sign of hope to you," I said as I realized this. "I guess in a way it's a sign of hope for the world too. I'm aware the Dragon can rewrite the world and rebirth it into something better. However… what good would that do in the end Lucas? Humanity will just destroy the world again, nothing will change. It's another reason why I didn't want to pull the Needles… if we don't fix our mistakes, then in the future, humanity will only destroy the world again. It would just be an endless vicious cycle."
"What mistakes, Claus?" Lucas said, frowning. Even after all this time, we can still never come to an agreement on this. "You saw how well the Nowhere Islands were before the Pigmasks showed up. Everyone was kind and generous to each other. We always cared about nature and what went on around us… but now everyone's already changed… Whenever I talked to someone in Tazmily it was like they didn't even care, or just didn't even want to talk unless something big happened… I feel like the world just got worse since Mom died and the Pigmasks appeared."
I just sighed as I said, "That's because everyone was ignorant of the world at the time… People are always going to invent money and become greedy eventually… And besides… what would happen if the Dragon does kill us all? What good would it have done for any of us if we just died in the end anyways?"
"Claus…" Lucas spoke up as he looked at me in the eyes. "You've put too much pressure and too many burdens on yourself. Is that what you truly believe or is it what the Pigmasks told you? You don't know for sure if that's true."
I sighed again as I looked down. Lucas was right though, I really don't know for sure what would happen once all the Needles are pulled. I just… still want to believe in the Pigmasks though… I've worked with them for three years, I can't just toss out everything they taught me to believe in… but I have been on my own during this adventure while Lucas got his friends supporting his back… "I just don't know Lucas…"
I felt my hand tingling and looked down at it to see Lucas's hand was sparking a bit with PK Love… what's he doing? I didn't let go of his hand though, instead I just let him do whatever he was doing. My entire body felt tingly as he continued using his PK Love while holding onto my hand.
About a minute had passed before it finally subsided. He looked over at me with… was that almost slight pity? "Those times you pulled the Needles, the three of them… they really were accidents? And the last one… that really was me you saw…"
"... Of course they were accidents, do you really believe I would be pulling them on purpose after everything I told you?" I asked him, a bit annoyed. "But… what did you just do?"
"... Claus, why don't you use a small portion of your PK Love on my hand?" Lucas suggested without really answering my question.
"Huh? Why?" I asked.
"You did it before when we were in Magicant. Go on, do it." Lucas prompt.
I sighed, he was giving me those puppy dog eyes. Funny how even to this day I can't ever say no to those. "Fine." I concentrated a bit, it was harder for me to use smaller portions of PK Love even in Magicant, though I don't know why, it was so easy the first time… But eventually I managed to get a spark of it on Lucas's hand. Lucas's hand also spark with PK Love, and our PSI intertwined with each other.
My eyes widen as I suddenly felt like I was watching Lucas's adventures throughout the island from his eyes. It felt so strange yet… nostalgic at the same time. He was giving me a small smile as if he had been expecting this.
"... You… really put yourself through all this even knowing that you'd be sacrificing the Magypsies and getting your friends hurt?"
"Y-yeah…" Lucas replied. He averted his gaze at me for a moment, and I knew he was trying to cope with that reality to himself right now. "I really believe that what I'm doing is… is what I should be doing… Even though I'm still doubtful now and then… Sometimes when you would stop us at the Needles and tell us not to pull them… I almost really did want to believe you, even before I knew who you were Claus… But the Magypsies have really been hopeful in me after all this time, even knowing they'd be sacrificing themselves, and my friends have been supporting me too as they helped me on this whole journey…"
I couldn't help but sigh again, Lucas looked up at me as if in understanding. Yeah, unlike him I didn't exactly have any real friends trying to support my own decisions. The army did try to help me fight, but things kept happening that left me on my own. Salsa even made me doubt them by yelling at how inhumane and cruel the chimera experiments are. After all this time, though, I refused to believe anything else, I wanted to rely on the Pigmasks, that they're right in rebuilding this dying world rather than take the easy way out that could also be the most fatal. It was the only thing that kept me going and fighting against my own brother. But in the end it hurt me more than anything else ever did, even losing Mom didn't hurt as much as it did when I forced myself to fight against Lucas and the people I love… "I still don't know what's right, Lucas… I just felt like I've been fighting for the wrong side… but I just can't believe that they were wrong either…"
"Well… maybe we can talk about that later, Claus," Lucas said, smiling at me. "While we're here… maybe I can teach you a thing or two about Magicant."
"What?" I looked at him. "Why? It's basically something your mind and soul created, right? What else is there to know?"
"Well… there is still a little more you can know," Lucas said, looking back over at the town with the sunflower fields. "Like… what about the town there? Every time we were here there's always just been a sunflower field, but now there's a town here too. I think… I think that might be a little bit of your PSI merging with mine in this Magicant, Claus."
"Wh-what?" I was shocked to hear that. I have been wondering why there was a town here. "Our PSI are merging? H-how? Why? Is this even possible? I-isn't Magicant supposed to be your thing? Why is mine starting to form in yours?" Granted I was freaking out, but I felt like I was not only intruding but forcing my way into my brother's gentle mind and soul.
"I… don't know," Lucas said, looking a little confused himself as he thought about it. "Maybe it didn't before because when we were in Magicant the last times, you were always trying to hide your PSI from me. But… now both of us know about it, and you've been working with the Pigmasks for a long time now… so maybe your PSI might be more willing to merge with mine in this Magicant, and it's showing up as… well that town I think."
"I have been working with a lot of technology and colonies that build cities in the desolate wastelands…" I admitted. "But what will happen if our PSI do merge in Magicant, Lucas? I… I shouldn't even be here, let alone be merging my Magicant with yours…"
"You're my twin brother, Claus. We've practically shared the same soul since we were born," Lucas told me. "Stop freaking out over this, okay?"
"... Oh right… I guess… I've been on the other side for so long I've forgotten we're twins…" I still don't know if this should happen or not, but I decided to just calm down and let things happen, because I was sick of fighting against everything all the time. "Sometimes I wish I could be a little more carefree again like you, Lucas. Having friends and family backing you up, not having to keep secrets all the time, and not being someone everyone thinks is the enemy."
"W-well… It really still doesn't have to keep being like that… And I'm sure everyone would still love and forgive you…" Lucas responded quietly. "A-anyways… you probably already guessed that Magicant can change depending on the person. Mine… it's always been a sunflower field. I'm not sure why… but recently some of the flowers have been dying on the outskirts. Like the ones right here…" He flicked one of the wilting sunflowers that were all around us.
I looked at the wilting sunflowers myself, it didn't take long before logic started to make me think. "I think it's because you've experienced a lot of hardships and losing people you cared about. It always feel like a small part of you dies inside when a Magypsy fades away, and I guess I didn't help when I kept telling you that you're ending the world and everyone in it all the time. Heh… you always were a big softie, Lucas."
He blushed embarrassingly a little at that, "Really? You almost sounded like your old self a little just now."
I frowned and felt heat rushing up my own cheeks when he said that. "What? No way, you're just hearing things. Boney always did say you have an active imagination!"
"Oh, so you did hear the things he's been saying all this time?" Lucas said, looking really interested. "He told me that you once responded to something he said. What else did you hear him say?"
I glared at that smile he had plastered on his face, before I gave a smirk of my own. "Just that you dressed yourself up as a sheep to get passed some stalker who kept yanking you out of the train tunnel. If you wanted to be a sheep, Lucas, I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind feeding you some grass and shaving your wool once in awhile."
He blushed and protested even more at that, "Oh stop that, Claus! I only did it to get past and find you in the first place!"
I laughed at how embarrassed he looked. After such a long time it feels good to just play with him even a little bit. Lucas looked like he finally got past it too, smiling and laughing a tiny bit to himself too.
Then I looked down at the river again before smiling at him, then I jumped into the water, splashing him. "Heh, now you're all soaked!" I laughed.
"Wah! C-Claaaaaus!" Lucas complained. "F-fine… I'm jumping in too!"
Before I knew it; he got up and splashed into the water right beside me, much to my surprise. I didn't expect it, but I still enjoyed it and splashed him again anyways. For that moment, it felt like all our troubles, the whole Needle pulling, being on opposite sides were completely forgotten, it was just me and Lucas playing together like the kids that we are. As I splashed Lucas into the water, I noticed the wilting sunflowers were starting to turn green and yellow again as they started standing back up. I couldn't help but smile at that just before Lucas grabbed my head and sunk me into the water. I was laughing despite the water, and so was Lucas, both of us were just wrestling away before I became very sleepy. I felt Lucas starting to relax in my arms, he must be getting sleepy too…
The water around us just gently moved us around before I found ourselves gently being pulled under. It was dark, but strangely warm, we could breathe and it didn't even feel wet. It felt nice actually… I found myself closing my eyes as I relaxed in my brother's arms.
Claus felt a flick to his forehead. A sharp one. Along with a nagging voice.
"Hey! You two cuties gonna wake up any time soon? It's already been a full night and then some."
Claus recognized that voice. One that he dreaded to hear when he woke up… Kumatora.
"Aaaaany day now you two. Actually, I can feel that one of you is already awake. That you Claus? It takes forever to wake up Lucas on a normal day."
Claus was silently cursing himself for not being the heavy sleeper between the two of them. He really didn't want to deal with Kumatora before Lucas was even awake. The boy wasn't sure what to do, he was too afraid to face her and anyone else who's with her.
"Kumatora, give him some time, he's probably terrified of you." Claus heard Duster's voice.
"What!? He's met me before, he shouldn't be that scared." He heard her reply back, almost sounding annoyed.
"Nooo… I think he has every reason to be scared. After all you did constantly threaten to maim or burn him." Claus thought that sounded like Boney right next to him, before he felt something wet drag across his face.
The boy grumbled when he felt Boney's tongue licking his face. Claus slowly blinked open his eyes, he might as well face the music, he just wished his brother would hurry and wake up. "Boney… stop trying to eat my face…"
"Claus! You're awake!" Ignoring what Claus said earlier, he continued licking him happily while the boy just groaned and pulled some blankets over him… Blankets? Last time he checked they were in the castle. "Come on, don't be such a spoil sport! Let me lick you! I bit you so many times that I need to make up for it with extra licking!"
Claus quickly sat up, trying to figure out where he was. He was laying in a big bed with his brother beside him. They were in a house rather than an abandoned castle, and he was being stared at by Duster, a Magypsy and Kumatora. Boney was still trying to lick his face.
"W-where am I?" Claus asked with a shaky voice, he sunk down more into the blankets, wishing he could disappear.
"Oh, hello there Claus~!" the Magypsy said first. "I'm Ionia, if you don't remember me, and this is my cute little house you're in! It's been awhile since I've seen you, Lucas's older brother. My, my, you've grown~"
"... H-hi…" Claus was still shrinking in his blanket. "Um… am I your prisoner now?"
He saw Kumatora roll her eyes while the Magypsy kept speaking. "Prisoner? Oh no no no, of course not! I wouldn't do something like that to someone as sweet as you~ I heard from these three that you two had passed out, so I couldn't help but give some hospitality~"
Boney managed to jump over on Claus and continued to lick his face. Claus groaned and tried to push the dog's face down away from his. "But I'm your enemy, remember? I fought with you and tried to stop Lucas from pulling Needles multiple times! Aren't you going to chain me up or at least give me something to keep me from using PSI?"
"Oh, now that's just cruel. What kind of Magypsy would I be if I had to resort to such things?" Ionia responded. "Though these three also told me about the fighting you all have went through, clashing at each other. Though I don't really see what's wrong, your heart feels as pure as ever~!"
Kumatora spoke next, looking at Claus sternly, and he was afraid at what she was going to say. "Look, Claus. I really don't like it that you had to keep pulling a knife- or in this case, a blade, on us like that. And maybe I am still angry that about it too. And that I wouldn't mind using just a little bit of PSI on you to-"
"You're scaring him! You said you would apologize but you're not doing very good at it!" Boney barked at her. He went back to attempting to lick at Claus again.
"Boney! It's not like you hadn't seen me recently!" Claus grumbled, trying to push him back down. "Look Kumatora, I'm sorry that we clashed so much and that you'll most likely never forgive me for it. I'm just doing what I believe is right. I don't want the Needles to be pulled."
"Really? You still believe that!? Ugggh, don't tell me you're still going to keep stopping us at every-" Kumatora's voice was getting louder until Ionia interrupted her.
"Now now Kumatora, I won't allow such anger here~ Let's talk a little bit with him before we go to such rash methods. Besides, you might wake up poor little Lucas."
Kumatora tried to calm herself down at Ionia's request. Duster was next to speak, "Why don't you want the Needles to be pulled, Claus?" he asked gently to the boy.
Claus looked down at his blanket and said, "Because… once the Dark Dragon is released… everyone will die."
"Oh~? Now that's a first I've heard about the Dark Dragon from you." Ionia spoke again, now more interested in listening. "Where did you hear this, young Claus~? If I remember right, only you and Lucas have been pulling the Needles so far. And both of you have such sweet hearts, I can feel it!"
"I don't know about the sweet heart thing." Claus frowned, feeling self conscious as Boney started licking his cheek. "But I was supposed to stop Lucas from pulling the Needles, not pull them myself. And anyways, Fassad was the one who told me about what will happen to the world once the Dragon wakes up. Even if a person with a pure heart pulls it, it still has to destroy the old world before a new one can take its place, which means we'd all go with it."
"Fassad? Now who's this? That does remind me of a Magypsy we used to know, but that one never really agreed with us… ah, Locria… Anywho, it is true that even us Magypsies don't know everything, sad as it is true~ But most of us are all sure that one with a good heart can keep the Dark Dragon from killing off everyone and still create a new world in its place. And who better than sweet little Lucas here~?" Ionia said proudly, playing a little with Lucas's hair.
Claus looked at Lucas and sighed, "Yeah, he's always been the one everyone can count on. I'm just the twin who messes everyone's day, and that hasn't changed at all. I've failed the Pigmasks, and everything I've worked hard for will be in vain."
"Hey, helped our job at least, didn't it?" Kumatora said, smiling smugly. "If there's one thing that's good about you being that Commander it's that your slip-ups helped us in the long run."
"I remember you really despising it when I pulled a Needle." Claus frowned at her. "Besides, now that I'm here, now's your chance to burn my butt off like you always wanted."
Kumatora sighed at that, "Look kid, I'm not that cruel. I just didn't know it was actually you, okay? I swear that if I knew that it was you, I wouldn't have said those things, so… sorry." she looked over at Boney after saying that. "That apology enough for ya?"
Boney rolled his eyes and said, "It's a start, little miss Princess."
"Point is that I mess up no matter what I do. I'm not fit to be the Commander anymore, heck I'm not fit to even be the waterboy of the Pigmasks anymore. All that hard work just went down the toilet the minute I pulled Doria's Needle." Claus hissed.
"So what will you do now, Claus?" Duster asked.
"I don't know… maybe go home and beg my father to take me back after I used Brainshock on him," Claus said. "If he doesn't, maybe I'll just have to go to the city or something and try to make a living myself."
"Whoa whoa whoa, you used Brainshock on your dad?" Kumatora said, sounding incredulous. "What did you need to do that for?"
"He wouldn't let me go out to stop Lucas. He found out I was the commander and I didn't know what else to do," Claus answered. "Look, I don't have anywhere else to go so I might as well just go on home or the city, I probably belong there anyways."
"Or… you could come with us, Claus." The boy froze when he heard Lucas's voice say that beside him.
"L-Lucas? You're awake?" Claus looked at him.
"I've been awake since you woke up… I just wanted to see how well you'd talk to them." Lucas said as he sat up.
"He liiiiiives!" Boney howled happily.
"You said you wanted me to join you?" Claus frowned. "But… we're supposed to be on opposite sides… I still don't like the idea of pulling the Needles."
"Still?" Lucas sighed, frowning to himself. "So… even if you were to come with us… you'd still might try to talk me out of pulling the Needles?"
"... I…" Claus hesitated, "It wouldn't matter if I tried to talk you out of it, you'd still do it anyway and I'd just mess everything up. You just do what you feel is right, Lucas." He laid back down on the bed and covered his head with the blanket.
"H-huh? Heeey, C-Claus…" Lucas said, slightly dismayed. Boney tried pawing at the blanket on Claus's head to get it off him. "You can, um…. s-still come with us either way. It would be nice… And you can just, I don't know… maybe walk away for a bit if you don't like seeing me pull the Needle?"
Ionia gave a small sigh before she said, "It seems poor Clausy-poo here is just shaken up. His own beliefs are being put to the test and his love for his family and wanting to go with his friends is tearing him apart. I suggest you give him some time to think about it, okay~? I'm sure he'll come around."
"Huh? Um… a-are you okay with that Claus?" Lucas asked Claus nervously.
Claus still had the blankets over his head. He really wished that he didn't have to make this choice, but he guessed that he really didn't have an option until he came to a conclusion. "... Sure." he mumbled under the blankets.
"A-alright…" Lucas said, nodding his head and getting off the bed. Kumatora and Duster were making their way out, while Lucas had to pull Boney off the bed. "Come on, Boney, he needs some time to think."
"Awww! But I wanna keep him company! Come on Lucas, I bit and tackled him, I need to be extra nice to him!" Boney whined as Lucas dragged him away.
Only Ionia was left with Claus. The boy himself looked over at her and sighed, "... Do you know a Magypsy named Locria?" he asked Ionia.
"Locria? Ah, yes, of course I do~! I haven't seen that one in a while, but that's the Magypsy who never seemed to quite agree with what we believed in… and we haven't heard from that one in quite a while." Ionia responded.
"All you Magypsies seem to believe pretty strongly in using the Dark Dragon's powers to rebirth the world." Claus said. "So… why did one of you disagree? Did something happen?"
Ionia was sipping her tea before she sighed, "Well… Locria was once like us, we all agreed that one day the Dragon's power will be needed again. But after the king and queen of Oshoe Castle abandoned everyone due to their fear of the Dragon's awakening, Locria slowly began to lose faith in it. I suppose after there was a distortion in the space and time continuum, Locria suddenly began disagreeing, saying what good it is to rebirth the world if it has to get destroyed first. And then Locria just disappeared one day. It's rather sad really, nobody really knows what changed Locria's mind."
Claus wondered if maybe Porky had something to do with that, and he had believed in Porky and now he's being challenged on that belief and his loyalty. "... But if it's true… then why should the Dragon wake up at all?"
Ionia waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, I'm sure you've heard of the old cycle really. Things have to come and go eventually, and this world is one of those things. Eventually this world's going to need to go, the signs are already showing, and the only way for this world to come again is for one with a good heart to awaken the Dark Dragon. I know this probably doesn't go very well with your own beliefs, little Clausy, but it's what us Magypsies are meant to convey in our long lives."
"Except for Locria." Claus pointed out and Ionia sighed at that. "I'm sorry… I guess I just don't have a lot of good impressions from those who wanted to release the Dark Dragon themselves. They tried to kidnap me or Lucas three years ago before they started copying the Pigmasks as the renegades. I don't know why they want the Dark Dragon to be released, however I can't help but get a bad feeling whenever they're around, especially their leader, the black Pigmask. It scares me so much that I grew desperate to try and stop Lucas from pulling anymore Needles…"
"Oh, is pulling the Needles that scary to you, you poor thing?" Ionia asked, babying the boy. "Well… I suppose that the possibility of the Dark Dragon doing that to our world is scary, isn't it? But Lucas is your twin brother, and a sweet one too~ Don't you trust your own brother that he'll try his best to help this world and save the people too?"
"I don't doubt Lucas… I just don't want everyone to have to die," Claus said quietly, "And besides, I already pulled more Needles than he did, wouldn't that mean right now the Dragon has more of my heart than Lucas's? I guess that doesn't matter since Lucas could easily just pull yours and we'd be even, then eventually Locria's. But those renegades… that black Pigmask… I have no doubt they're plotting something sinister for that Dragon."
Ionia seemed to be thinking to herself, "I haven't been in touch much with the outside world, but I've heard of the Pigmasks and this supposed group trying to defy them. Are these 'renegades' really such evil people?"
"I don't know if they're evil, but… they did a lot of bad things since I've seen them. They attacked Tazmily, burned down our forest, tried to kidnap me or Lucas and sent that Mecha Drago to terrorize everyone and killed our Mom." Claus explained. "Is it any wonder why I don't like them?"
"Oh dear, sounds like you've had quite the bad experience," Ionia said. "Well then, do you really believe that the Needles shouldn't be pulled?"
"I've always believed that since I learned about them," Claus answered. "But… lately all it's done is cause me to become stressed and hurt the people I care about."
Ionia seemed to really think about this before actually answering, taking another sip of her tea before looking at Claus. "Well… why don't you just try to travel with Lucas, dear? You seem very conflicted about what to believe in, so I think it's for the best if you just travel with him, see things from his perspective. I've heard the last Needle have a huge city built over it, where those Pigmasks are apparently staying. Maybe, once you arrive there, you can ask your superiors to fully explain their reasoning for their beliefs. Does that sound good for you, dear~?"
Claus thought about that. He remembered his mother used to tell him and Lucas that it's important to keep an open mind and always look at both sides of an argument before reaching a conclusion. "... That… that might be the best way to go about it… at least this way I can hear both sides of the argument." I just hope Master Porky, Fassad and the Pigmasks will forgive me for joining with the… 'enemy'.
Ionia seemed very happy about this, "Oh very good! So will you be going out to join your little brother now then, Clausy-poo~?"
"... I suppose… if they'll still have me." Claus said with a sigh as he sat up from the bed.
"Then you better hurry, you know how impatient Kumatora gets~" Ionia chuckled.
"... But… if I let Lucas pull your Needle, wouldn't you disappear?" Claus asked. "Do you really want that?"
"Oh Claus, sometimes you and Lucas can be so cute," Ionia said, chuckling. "This was already explained to Lucas, but us Magypsies are prepared for this sort of thing, the reason why we even guard these Needles. But it's okay, some of us find it exciting to know that our Needle is pulled and we're disappearing for a good cause, myself included~"
That sounds more like you're hoping for death to me… still, I shouldn't knock them for dying for what they believe is right. Claus thought to himself. After all… I sort of did the same.
Ionia then smiled and said, "Well since you're willing to join up with your brother, you better go and join them~."
Claus sighed as he got off the bed and said, "... Ionia… Thanks."
Claus walked out of the door to see Lucas was already having a discussion with his friends.
"Are you sure Claus would just let you pull the Needle? I mean he sounds like he's still very much against it," Duster said.
"I-I think I can convince him, and if he really doesn't want to watch then he can… I don't know, walk away somewhere temporarily while I pull it?" Lucas said, suggesting the same idea that he told Claus while they were in Magicant.
"Yeah right, like someone could just walk away from something like that." Kumatora frowned.
"Maybe one of us should hypnotize him or something so he wouldn't suddenly try to stop you." Duster suggested. "At least then he could say he was knocked out."
Claus realized that none of them noticed that he was already standing there, not even Boney surprisingly. "Uh… ahem." he said awkwardly, trying to get their attention.
They still didn't notice and were still arguing.
"Come on Duster, we shouldn't do that to my brother." Lucas frowned.
"I could paralyze him then," Kumatora suggested.
"Guys, I don't want you to incapacitate him!" Lucas protested.
"So what should we do then? Stuff him to the brim so he'd be so full he can't move?" Boney suggested and Lucas and Kumatora stared at him. "What? I ate too much once and I couldn't chase the sheep!"
"What did he say?" Duster asked awkwardly.
"You don't want to know," Kumatora groaned.
Claus shook his head before he walked over to them and said, "Excuse me! But I believe I have a right to choose here!"
That caught everyone's attention as they turned to the ginger haired boy.
"Oh, Claus! … How long were you standing there?" Lucas was the first to ask.
"Long enough. But don't I have some kind of say for what I want to do when Lucas has to… you know." Claus asked, looking at each one of them.
"Well I suppose it's only fair, but…" Duster frowned. "ARE you going to let him?"
"You do realize if you try to stop him then we have the right to hold you down any way possible, right?" Kumatora said.
Claus sighed and said, "Okay look; I really need to get you guys to New Pork City. I think Ma- uh, I mean King P is over there and I want to ask him something and I want you guys to hear it."
"New Pork City? You mean that big place that everyone in Tazmily is moving to?" Lucas said. "Well... I guess we could, but we still have this Needle to pull. Can we go after I do that?"
Claus frowned and hesitated at that, he still really didn't want Lucas to pull anymore Needles, but if he didn't let him pull it then they'll never go to New Pork City willingly with him, and he's not sure if he could knock them all out by himself, that and he's just tired of always having to fight them. Logically speaking, the only real way to get any answers to his conflicted beliefs is to let Lucas pull Ionia's Needle. "... I'll… I'll let you pull the Needle, but you have to promise not to pull the last Needle until after we speak to King P, deal?"
Lucas's party each looked at each other. Kumatora looked skeptical, while Duster just shrugged, not seeming to mind. Boney didn't seem to care either way. Lucas looked over at Claus and nodded his head, "O-okay. After we pull this Needle… we can go meet this King P. But… he's not going to hurt us, is he?"
"He shouldn't, he's a really nice guy," Claus said. "I just want you guys to have a discussion with him about this world… whether it should be rebuilt or reborn."
"Fine, if it'll make you stop trying to fight us, then we'll go talk to this 'King P' guy." Kumatora said, "So does that mean you're on board with us for now, kid?"
Claus nodded, "Yeah, I'll join you guys. I didn't like being all alone anyways. Knowing my luck I'd probably mess you guys up without trying to anyways."
"Oh come on Claus, don't say that about yourself." Lucas frowned, "But I'm more than happy to say welcome to the team, Claus!" He smiled as he hugged his brother, glad to have him on their side again and the fact that he has PSI really made him happy.
Claus froze up from the sudden hug, he really wasn't expecting it, but he slowly wrapped his arms around Lucas, feeling his brother's warmth, Claus didn't realize how much he missed it since this whole Needle journey began.
"Aww, look at that, the twins are hugging each other." Kumatora chuckled.
"I know, it's adorable right?" Boney laughed as he wagged his tail.