DarkFoxKit: *looks around before looking at the camera* Hi! … Heh… I'll bet some of you are wondering why there was no update last week. Well, last time I posted a chapter that was about 10,000 words, which is two weeks worth of a chapter, and we also needed a break from updating this since we also have to focus on our Undertale updates.

Donfyre: *walks up beside Fox* Oh, starting already this time? Well, like the fox said, we had another two week break considering the length of last chapter.

DarkFoxKit: Also, unlike me, Fyre has a very busy life, so we have to be very picky about the time we do our ANs. He's going to become a big success one of these days. *crawls over Fyre*

Donfyre: Wah! *falls to the floor with Fox on top of me* O-oh shush, don't say that. It's a nice thought but I dunno about it.

DarkFoxKit: Well the future isn't set in stone, but I have a feeling you'll do great. *is nuzzling his face with her own furry face* Besides, who would've imagined an ordinary boy like Ness or Lucas would turn into the world's little savior, right?

Donfyre: Heh, theirs' are just a story for people like us to write fanfics about. But it's still a nice thought. XP Anyways, you gonna give them the laydown on the next chapter?

DarkFoxKit: Well, sometimes stories can come true. *jumps off Fyre with a devious smile on her face* Anyways, readers, this chapter is more about the characters here. It shows how Claus will talk and react with Lucas, Kumatora, Duster and Boney, though mostly Kumatora and Duster since he's not as close to them as he is with Lucas and Boney. *Is slowly stalking Fyre in a circle like a predator about to jump its prey*

Donfyre: Yeah, it'll be nice to give this insight that we'll let you readers see for yourself. *is watching Fox* … Uh… w-what are you doing? ^^;

DarkFoxKit: Just… biding my time… :3 So… you have anything else to add?

Donfyre: Hmm? Oh, not really. Let's just have the readers move right along! I'm sure they're all probably impatient. :P

DarkFoxKit: Alright~ Go on, readers. I'll answer your reviews at the bottom so the AN won't take up too much space up here. Also… *jumps at Fyre and pounced him into the wall* It's a good day to play~

Donfyre: Ack! o-O' H-help m-! *static*

Chapter 38: A Team of Five

"Sooo… back here again," Claus spoke up. The group of five were outside the entrance to the Chupichupyoi temple, still blocked and covered with vines. The memory of just the day before hit Claus when they were all standing here on opposing sides, and the day Lucas finally found out his identity.

Of all things to give me away… it had to be the badge Lucas gave to me on our birthday. Claus bitterly thought to himself as he looked down at the Memory Badge in his gloved hand, Lucas had given it back to him before they came back out here. Despite the badge giving him away, however, Claus still handled it with care.

"Well we're here, so I guess now we just sprinkle that Waters of Time thing to get these vines out of our way? Maybe I should put my waters on there too," Boney said as he began sniffing the vines.

Claus wanted to say something to that, but stopped himself, before remembering he didn't have to hide the fact he could talk to Boney anymore. He shook his head, feeling all kinds of mixed messages going through his mind right now.

"No need to announce it," Kumatora said, rolling her eyes. "Alright Lucas, just sprinkle some of that time water stuff and you should be good."

Lucas nodded his head, pulling out the bottle and sprinkling the waters contained inside over the thick vines blocking the entrance now that he didn't have to worry about any interruptions from a certain masked man. He tried to ignore Boney doing his business off to the side.

When Lucas was finished, the vines started moving with life in them, as if the water really did bring time back into them. All at once, the vines began to age rapidly with the years that it had missed. Flowers quickly grew and withered on the vines, and within a few seconds, the vines shrunk and retracted, revealing the interior of the temple and the Needle that no doubt lay not too far inside. Claus could already see the dim glow of it on a high pedestal. The sight of the Needle brought a hollow feeling into his chest.

"Well that's that," Duster said. "We better go in and pull that Needle."

"Yeah," Lucas nodded as the group of four began walking in.

Boney stopped and turned when he realized Claus wasn't following them, "Claus?"

Lucas stopped when he heard Boney barked his brother's name, noticing Claus hadn't made a move to go inside.

"... Y-you go on ahead… I'll just wait out here, okay?" Claus said, trying not to look at the dim glow inside the temple. His heart was torn between stopping his brother from pulling it and just letting him pull it.

Boney whimpered, "Claus, why not? You'll be lonely out here."

Claus just nodded his head, not taking his eyes off the Needle not too far away. "I… y-yeah, I'll be fine." He turned his head away from the Needle now, looking at the now very interesting trees around him. Even if it was his own brother; he still couldn't bear knowing that he's forgoing his important duty and just letting a Needle be pulled. Claus couldn't bear it if he watched and let it happen.

"You sure you're not gonna run while we're in here?" Kumatora asked a little suspiciously.

"Kumatora! I know how he's feeling… We should just let him stay out here so he won't feel so bad," Lucas argued. He glanced back at his brother in concern, who just waved his hand towards the Needle.

"Just get it over with," Claus nearly begged. "The sooner you pull that Needle, the sooner we can go talk to King P."

"Okay. We'll be out as soon as we're done, Claus," Lucas said with a nod before he went into the temple.

Boney whined before walking over to Claus, "Hey… I'll stay out here and keep you company while Lucas pulls the Needle."

Claus looked at Boney, for three years he had to hide the fact he could talk to him, and now that he no longer had any reason to, it felt rather strange in a liberating sort of way. "... Are you sure you should stay with me, Boney?"

"Lucas has Kumatora and Duster keeping him company, and I feel like I owe you after biting you so much," Boney said, "Why do you have to cover yourself in chemicals anyway? It was so hard distinguishing your smell."

"That was the idea, Boney," Claus said. "I didn't want you or Lucas finding out that I was the Commander."

"You could have just told us… We wouldn't think of you as a monster. And now I have to make it up to you for everything I've done!" Boney complained. He looked like he was gonna jump up and lick Claus's face again, but the boy took a step back from the eager dog.

"Think about it, Boney… I'm working for the very side that you're fighting against, as its commander. I was too scared to tell you, Lucas, or anybody about what I was doing," Claus explained. It felt weird to him that he had to tell his dog to think about something. "I mean Lucas and Dad freaked out when I just told them I was the waterboy for them of all things."

"Okay, admittedly they probably wouldn't have taken it too well… they are pretty hard headed sometimes, but I'm sure they would've understood your reasoning if you had just told them. After all I myself am still unsure whether releasing that big Dragon is a good idea or not, it seems scary actually… but I trust Lucas's judgement. The boy can be naive and a stubborn hard head sometimes, mostly thanks to Kumatora's influence, but he knows what he's doing and he truly believes the Dragon will help everyone." Boney explained, sounding wise for a dog.

"I suppose trusting Lucas is easy… but this whole Dragon thing… I just don't like it," Claus sighed. "We still have no guarantees it can actually save people while it destroys the world, and I rather not have to kill everyone off just to rebuild a dying world. And I still hold on to those beliefs even if it's… shaky right now. I just hate fighting my own brother like this."

At this mention, the two of them glanced up at the high pedestal where the Needle was. Lucas, Kumatora, and Duster were now up there too, talking among each other. Lucas made one last worried glance at his brother before stepping up to the Needle. Claus turned his head away.

"I… don't want to watch this," Claus said, covering his eyes with his organic hand.

Boney gave a whine as they heard the familiar sound of a Needle being pulled. Pretty soon the area light up and the earth began shaking as the heartbeats thumped. Claus had gotten used to the shaking and light shows by now, but it was no less cringe worthy.

Pretty soon, the shaking and lights stopped, and when Claus dared to look back at the temple, the glow was gone. He gave a sigh, knowing there was only one Needle left between the world's rebirth and possibly the extinction of every living thing on this planet.

"And then there was one…" Claus said softly. "Fassad…" I wonder how Fassad is doing now? I hope he's okay… maybe he went to New Pork City after Dr. Andonuts fixed him up.

Lucas, Duster and Kumatora all came out of the temple, but before they could say anything, Ionia was walking up to them. Already her body was flickering in and out of existence.

"My oh my, you finally pulled my Needle, Lucas~" Ionia said with a smile.

"Y-yeah…" Lucas frowned as he saw Ionia's body flickering, sad that he will never see his PSI mentor again.

"Oh don't look so sad, Lucas." Ionia smiled before looking to Kumatora. "Now before I go, there is one PSI technique I feel should be passed down to you. It's a very dangerous PSI and I didn't intend on teaching you at all, but it might be better if you did learn it, dearie."

"One more PSI I haven't heard of?" Kumatora asked.

"Yes dearie~ Now hurry, before I disappear!"

Kumatora quickly nodded her head, turning around so her back was to the Magypsy. Ionia stepped back a bit, concentrating hard and staring at Kumatora before suddenly, a bright, powerful flash of lightning struck down on Kumatora. The young woman fell flat on her face from the impact, and Lucas and Duster quickly rushed to her aid. When they lifted her up, she was whispering one word out loud.

"Starstorm."

Claus's eyes widen when he heard those words. The only other person he knew that had such a devastating PSI, aside from those robots he saw in on Tanetane Island, was Fassad. He remembered Fassad telling him the PSI is very powerful and very dangerous, and the only thing rivaling it would probably be PK Love in its omega level- which crossed another thought in Claus's mind. PK Love seem to have gotten stronger with every Needle he and Lucas pulled… with three… would that mean that they both can use PK Love in its strongest level now? That thought terrified him even more than the thought of pulling another Needle.

"Now you can use Starstorm," Ionia said. "Lucas and his cute twin brother Claus can use PK Love Omega. I wish I could say I look forward to seeing what you would do from now own, but alas, I can't. Still, now nobody should stand in your way~ I wish you all the best of luck. And if I'm right, Locria's Needle should be located somewhere in a big, busy place, full of people and noisy buildings."

Fassad… his Needle must be in that city, New Pork City. Claus thought to himself when Ionia explained this. And I'm leading them right to it! Master Porky just better come up with a good argument about this… He bit his thumb glove nervously.

Lucas looked really sad at Ionia's earlier statement, not really paying attention to her later bit about the whereabouts of the last Needle, "You're almost gone, Ionia… T-thanks for being such a great teacher to me when I was learning PSI."

Ionia nodded and said, "It was great getting to teach you, cute little Lucas~"

Claus walked up to her and said, "Ionia… thanks… for what you said before."

Ionia smiled and said, "I always enjoy making you cute boys happy. It's only too bad you hadn't revealed you could PSI sooner, I would've been more than happy to teach both of you boys on how to use PSI and how to fully utilize PK Love. Well I guess I'll leave that up to Lucas now."

She then gave Kumatora some lipstick and said, "Take good care of my memento, you've all come a long way. I leave the rest to you now~!" She said before her body disappeared into sparkles.

After a moment of silence, Claus looked up to his brother and said, "... What did she mean by 'fully utilizing PK Love'?"

"Oh, that. It's just using PK Love to the fullest, like for attacking and such," Lucas explained. "Do you not know how to do that?"

"... I'm still not sure what you even meant," Claus chuckled sheepishly.

"Well…" Lucas turned to Kumatora and Duster. "Do you guys think it's okay if we stay here for a while so I can teach my brother?"

Duster shrugged, not really seeming to care much. He looked over at Kumatora, who seemed a little wary at the suggestion, "What are you going to teach him? Something that could be potentially dangerous?"

Claus frowned at that, What, she thinks I'll turn against in the middle of him teaching me? Then again… I have been doing it secretly for a while, and I haven't exactly promised I'll be on their side once we get to New Pork City…

"I'm just going to teach him the basics of PSI. Claus, I've noticed that your fighting technique mostly rely on power, but have you ever used PSI for something other than fighting all the time?" Lucas asked his brother.

"Other than fighting? Well… I mostly use offensive type PSI. There's not really much I can use it for besides fighting," Claus answered, not really seeing where his brother was going with this.

"Not really, there can be practical uses for offensive type PSI too," Lucas smiled at him. "Like you can use PK Fire to make a camp fire on cold days or to cook something. You can use PK Thunder to send a good jolt to a dying person's heart. PK Freeze can keep things preserved for a long time and cool you off when you get too hot. You see what I mean? Have you ever tried doing that, Claus?"

"Um… I think? I never really had to worry too much about that. The Pigmasks' technology usually took care of everything," Claus replied.

"You and those stupid…" Kumatora grumbled under her breath. Claus could only faintly hear her say it, but he ignored it right now.

"Well now you can learn how to use it for other than fighting. You didn't know anything about Magicant either. Who was teaching you how to use PSI?" Lucas asked.

"Fassad, or Locria, as the other Magypsies called him… her, whatever he is. He was the Magypsy that they kept saying didn't agree with the others," Claus answered. He remembered Lucas saying something about this before too… before he knew that Claus was the commander, like how Lucas really wanted to teach the commander the more practical side of PSI. "But why does it matter?"

"Because you can't always rely on technology for everything." Lucas pointed out. "And I've always wanted to be able to teach you something about PSI since we talked about it long ago." He gave a small smile.

Claus could tell Lucas was really excited and happy to know that his brother really could use PSI.

"And I was right… you really did inherit all the offensive PSI," Lucas said with a cheerful smile.

"Heh… I did, didn't I? It goes well with your supportive PSI, no wonder you and Kumatora were always so hard to take down," Claus said, trying to make a dark joke. The pink-haired woman in question didn't look like she appreciated it much though.

"H-hey! I knocked you over a few times too you know! What, just because I'm a dog and can't use PSI you consider me to not to be a threat?" Boney barked.

Claus looked at Boney, it seemed as if there was a silent rivalry between him and Kumatora.

"I didn't say you were easy to take down either Boney," Claus chuckled.

Lucas chuckled at that too, "Heh… it's kinda different to see you actually talking back to Boney for a change, but in a good way."

"Well practical uses for PSI is all fine and dandy Lucas, but we really should talk to King P soon. I want to know if it's really right to pull the last Needle and rebirth the world," Claus said seriously.

"Of course, but I at least want to teach you the basics for PK Love before we go. I remember hearing how the commander- or rather you- had your PK Love go wild when you thought I was dead. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why the commander's PK Love went wild like that, but now that I know it's you, it makes perfect sense." Lucas smiled.

Claus remembered that day too. When the renegades attacked Tazmily Village, and Lucas suffered a lot of damage… That was one of the most obvious signs that he was Claus in actuality. "Yeah… I was just really worried about you that day… Anyways, I guess it wouldn't hurt for you to teach me a few things before heading to New Pork City. I don't really know where the city is anyways…"

"You don't know where it is? Then how are we going to get there, smarty pants?" Boney grumbled.

"Okay, you need to shut your mouth while the humans are talking," Claus grumbled back.

"Really starting to wish I had a dog translator or something now," Duster chuckled.

"Well anyways, PK Love gets its energy from our love," Lucas explained. "It's no surprise it would go wild when someone you loved was taken away from you, it reacted to how you felt and exploded. It never harms the people you considered friends, that's why I can always use it without fear I'll hurt the people close to me."

"Tanetane Island *cough cough!*" Kumatora reminded.

"In my defense, I didn't know it was you guys, okay?" Lucas grumbled, feeling his face flush.

"Wait what?" Claus blinked at that. "You attacked Kumatora with PK Love on Tanetane Island? … Let me guess; it was the mushrooms, right?"

"N-no! … Yes… and I hit Duster too..." Lucas eventually admitted when he saw Claus seeing right past his weak lie.

"Understandable. You can't tell what's what when you eat those things," Claus said as he cringed at the memory of what he saw after eating those accursed mushrooms.

"Y-yeah… but anyways, moving on! Since I don't use a lot of offensive PSI, most of the time I have to rely on enhancing PK Love to help me in battle. I can send portions of it through my body to help enhance my strength, similar to Offense Up but only in short bursts that don't use a lot of PSI," Lucas said as he showed a glowing hexagonal energy flashing in the palm of his hand. "You did it before when we were in Magicant, but I guess you have trouble doing that in the real world?"

"Uh… well I never knew PK Love could be used in such a way," Claus admitted. "I don't even know why or how I did it in Magicant."

"Well PSI can work differently depending on how you use it," Lucas said. "There are many different ways to use it. Come on Claus, I want to see if you can create a small portion of PK Love onto the palm of your hand."

"Just… a small portion?" Lucas nodded his head. "Er, alright then." Claus held out his left hand and he tried to summon just a little bit of PK Love onto his palm. With some concentration, he managed to summon a few small, flickering hexagonal sparks, but it wasn't as impressive as Lucas's though.

"Oh, that's already a good start! Now just use a tiny bit more and- WAH!"

Claus had tried to put in more, but it was too much. A large burst of PK Love exploded from his hand, its power was comparable to that of a PK Love alpha. It spread around him and Lucas's party all fell back defensively, however they weren't hurt.

"... Whoops," Claus said, sheepishly, wiping his left hand on his shirt as if he touched something poisonous with it.

Kumatora was the first one back up, seeing that they weren't hurt, "Hey, watch what you're doing with that! Unless you wanted to do that?"

"H-hey, that was by accident, I swear! I didn't know!" Claus protested, a little annoyed that she was already questioning his intentions.

"Claus is right, if he wanted to hurt us we would be a little singed from that right now," Lucas said. "But we don't have a scratch, see?"

"I'm glad I can't use PK Love, it's all so complicated," Boney groaned.

"This is all very interesting, but I'm going to go sit way over here," Duster said as he went to the edge of the area.

"Not a bad idea, but I have my eyes on you," Kumatora said to Claus before going to where Duster went.

"... You two lovebirds have fun now." Claus smirked.

Kumatora stiffened up at that, not even looking back. "What did you say? You know what… I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that. For both your sake and the fact that you're Lucas's brother."

"Oooh, I should've thought of that one! You DO spend a lot of alone time with Duster after all." Boney smirked.

"Careful mutt, I might not be so lenient with you," Kumatora growled at Boney.

Lucas chuckled, "Wow, you two really do like messing with Kumatora."

"Well considering all the insults she kept throwing at me when I was the Commander, she deserves it." Claus grinned.

Lucas couldn't help but smile at that, he had missed this Claus's attitude. "Well Claus, I think we should keep going with the lesson. PK Love is a bit tough to control at first, but once you're able to you may be able to do things you couldn't before."

"Yeah, I think I can get it…" Claus said as he tried to create the spark again. "But I seem to go too big or too small…"

"It's because you were using another persona for a long time and crushing your own heart when you were fighting us. It might be a while before you can have better control with your PK Love," Lucas explained.

"You think? Well… if you say so. Guess I'll just be more careful when practicing then," Claus said, looking down at the palm of his only organic hand. He felt a tinge of guilt again when Lucas said that about using another identity.

Suddenly, Boney began barking from nearby, "Hey! I hear something coming!"

Claus perked up when he heard a familiar tune playing, a tune that usually meant the Pigmasks were coming. "Could it be…? I thought they were all wiped out. Did they send someone from the city…?"

Kumatora and Duster hurried over to them when they heard the tune playing too.

"What's going on?" Duster asked.

Then a long, stretched vehicle showed up in front of them. They all stared at it and looked at Claus as he was the Pigmask expert here.

"Hey, don't look at me, I've never seen this kind of vehicle before," Claus quickly said.

One of the doors opened and an average looking man wearing a suit came out, smiling at them. "Are you Lucas?"

Lucas looked a little apprehensive, not stepping forward as he spoke, "Um, y-yeah. Why?"

"Well then, Master Porky cordially invites you and your friends to New Pork City! You must be someone really special if Master Porky's sending a personal invitation to you," The man said.

"Wait, Master Porky is inviting Lucas to go to New Pork City?" Claus found that rather shocking, surely he knew that six of the seven Needles has been pulled already, why risk it by inviting the very person they're trying to stop to where the last Needle was?

"Yes, it is on his orders," The man, the chauffeur, said with a nod.

"So we're going to New Pork City in this… thing?" Duster asked, looking at the stretched vehicle.

"It's a lot safer than it looks," The chauffeur reassured. "So will you accept, Master Lucas?"

"Wait, are you sure Master Porky wanted this? That seems a bit odd," Claus said, concerned that this was a bad idea.

"Hey, why are you arguing with the man? You wanted us to go there too, didn't you?" Kumatora frowned.

"Well it's just… the last Needle. If it is in New Pork City, why would Master Porky risk inviting the very person pulling the Needles there in the first place?" Claus asked.

"Master Porky has his own reasons, and he will not take no for an answer," The chauffeur sighed.

"Giving us no choice in this?" Kumatora frowned.

"I'm afraid not, ma'am," the chauffeur responded, shaking his head. "Now please, if you would step inside. It's very cozy in there, I assure you. And we mustn't spend more time lingering here than we need to."

Lucas was the first one to step forward, before anyone even said any sort of agreement. He nervously stepped inside the limousine as the chauffeur stood to one side. Once he was inside, Claus just shrugged his shoulders and followed him inside, seeing nothing else that they could do.

At least it's a free trip to the city. The young commander thought.

The last three followed the twins inside the limousine, with the chauffeur coming inside last onto the diver's seat and closing the door behind them. "Please, make yourselves comfortable until we arrive."

"What the kibble is this? This place is as big as a house!" Boney barked.

"This place is… really fancy. I can hardly believe it's even a vehicle," Duster said in awe.

Claus tapped at some of the drinks and pool table laying around, there was even a hot tub filled with hot water in the middle of it all.

"... Yeah, it's Master Porky alright, he likes being fancy." Claus couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered when he first moved into his commander room, it was so big and fancy that it took him weeks to get used to it.

"Huh? They have juice here too?" Lucas said, walking over to the table with drinks. He took one of the large, slender bottles but both Claus and the chauffeur ran over to him and pulled him away.

"Whoooa whoa whoa, Lucas. You shouldn't have that stuff; I saw it do some weird things to some of the higher-ranking Pigmasks," Claus said as he pulled him away.

"The spirits aren't allowed for children. But please feel free to do anything else you'd like," the chauffeur agreed.

Lucas blushed at the small commotion he made, saying a small "Oops." quietly.

"I don't think adults should have this stuff either," Claus grumbled.

Kumatora was looking at the hot tub and said, "I could use a dip after all that running around. Finally some down time!"

"Yeah, take a nice long bath, that'll be nice for your skin," Boney huffed.

Duster was looking at what appeared to be a Happy Box, looking at it curiously.

Lucas watched as the chauffeur went to the front seat with the wheel and the limousine began moving. "So… now what?"

"Now… we wait," Claus answered. "We could sit down while we wait and chat for a bit if you want."

"Oh, sure! It'll be nice to just relax for a little while at least." Lucas said, nodding his head and sounding enthusiastic about the idea.

Claus and Lucas sat together on the nice, soft chairs while Kumatora was taking a dip in the hot tub, Duster was watching the Happy Box and Boney was just sniffing around.

"So now that we're just talking… why don't you tell me what it's like traveling with a short tempered lady, a quiet but effective thief and a smart mouthing dog?" Claus asked his brother.

Lucas looked over at Claus curiously. Claus himself didn't know what it was, but it was… an inquisitive look. "Well… um, fun I guess? Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to know what it was like," Claus said. "I was mostly traveling alone or with other soldiers. Mostly alone since I could fly solo, and not to mention after the base was bombed I was the only one left able to travel around anyways."

"It was rough and difficult, but they supported me the best they can. We worked together in tough times and always tried to look out for each other," Lucas answered.

"Must've been nice," Claus sighed.

Lucas hesitated before he said, "Why don't you get to know them, Claus?"

"Hmm?" Claus looked at Lucas. "Why?"

"I want you to get to know Kumatora and Duster a little better, they're really great friends you know." Lucas smiled.

"I-I don't know… after everything that happened, I wouldn't be surprised if they both hate me and are just being nice about it because of you," Claus said quietly.

"Give them a chance, Claus, I'm sure Duster and Kumatora don't hate you," Lucas said gently. "Go on, talk to them."

Claus sighed, he really wished his brother wouldn't try so hard for him sometimes. "Alright, alright, I'll go talk to them."

The ginger haired boy walked around the limo, looking at Duster or Kumatora, he should probably try talking to the easier one; the quiet thief Duster. Kumatora still scares the young commander.

"Hey uh… Duster…" Claus started, not sure how to start a conversation with him, "I'm glad you've been helping and taking care of my brother…"

"... It's no problem, kid," Duster said with some hesitance.

Claus looked at Duster's limp leg, wondering what could've happened to it, and yet he's a really fast runner, "You must've had some harsh training before."

Duster gave a small sigh as he gave a far away look, probably remembering how he got that limp leg, making Claus wish he didn't say anything.

"There was an accident on my first field test," Duster said. "My father didn't prepare me too well and it cost me my leg."

"Oh… I'm sorry about that," Claus said, feeling sympathetic as he had lost his arm in his early days with the army.

"It's okay. I didn't let that bother me and worked harder than ever to prove I can still be a great thief, someone my father could be proud of. Of course… my father is hardly ever happy with what I do," Duster sighed.

Claus couldn't help but cringed at that, being reminded of his own father. The boy wondered how Flint was doing, and how angry he would be at Claus for using Brainshock on him and for being the commander of the Pigmasks.

"But don't let it get you down, Claus. I'm proud I was able to help the young Princess and Lucas in their endeavours for the Needles, it makes me feel like I could be someone I'm proud of," Duster said with a small smile. "And I know you try hard to do what you believe is right too, despite the loss of your own arm and eye, that takes some serious dedication and bravery."

Claus couldn't help but give a small smile at that too. "You sure are a fast and tough fighter despite the limp, Duster. You gave me a run for my money."

"Heh, coming from you that means a lot. You're not pushover yourself, Claus, they must've trained you hard since you could take on all four of us at once like that," Duster said with some respect in his voice.

Claus gave a small blush at that, "W-well you guys still overwhelmed me."

"There are four of us. For a four vs. one fight, you held up yourself pretty well," Duster said, giving a warm smile. "I know it took me a while for my own father to get me to a decent fighting strength. You must have worked really hard."

"Yeah... I worked pretty hard to get where I am now," Claus said as he sighed. "It was because I wanted to do something great for once in my life... I mean Lucas was already well liked in the village and he gained PSI before I did."

"Hey, even if you there are people who don't really agree with what you're doing..." At this, Duster shifted a little uncomfortably. "You still tried really hard in what you believed in. Just look at me, I was raised to be the town thief of all things. It's not really something you would want to be known as. ... Even if there wasn't anything worth stealing."

"Oh yeah, why were you and Wess thieves anyway?" Claus asked. "I mean, nobody in the village cared that you were, but there had to have been a reason for it, right?"

Duster scratched the back of his head, a slight sheepish look on his face. "Yeah... about that. My father, Wess... he explained to me that our sole purpose as thieves was to steal a certain item from that old Osohe Castle. It's actually where I met Kumatora first. But... I guess I wasn't raised as much of a great thief as I was hoped to be. I ended up stealing the wrong item, and my father was angry of course. But I know he only does that because he loves me. Maybe now he at least sees me as something a little more than an idiot now that I'm helping Lucas and Princess Kumatora." He chuckled at that last part.

"Your father seems like a very... strict man," Claus said with a frown. "I'd probably break if my dad was like that... But how does it feel to travel around the island with people with psychic powers and a dog you couldn't understand? Don't you feel envious or left out at all?" I know I would…

The young man shrugged. "Not really. I'm just glad I'm doing my part in helping, at least in some way." He noticed Claus looking down dejectedly. "And hey, you still have your part. Maybe you're not helping Lucas, but you're still doing what you believe in. Even if that makes us enemies."

"It's funny... I almost wished that Fassad never found me with PSI fever... maybe then I could've been on Lucas's side instead. Funny how I wished to go against my own beliefs, how okay I would've been to destroy the world and let the Dragon rebirth it, but I can't standby and just let it happen if it could kill everyone... but... I hated being your enemy," Claus said, his voice low. "I just hope... Master Porky will help clear things up."

Duster patted Claus's shoulder. "Maybe everything is still confusing, but I'm sure you'll find a way to settle things. Lucas might be your enemy, but he's still family first."

Claus cringed at the confirmation of calling Lucas his enemy, he hated seeing his brother, someone closest to him, to be called an enemy like that, "Yeah... but... what will I do... if I have to fight you guys again? I don't know if my heart can take it... it was hard enough when you didn't know who I was... but now that you do..." he paused, feeling sick just thinking about the possible inevitable battle.

"... I don't really know what to say about that. But I'm sure you and Lucas... you two will work something out."

It looked like Duster was about to say something else, but Kumatora's voice rang out.

"Yo Claus! Get over here, I want to talk to you about something!" Claus cringed at hearing Kumatora's loud voice calling for him.

Oh great, what does she want with me? ... She's even BATHING IN THE HOT SPRING! Claus groaned to himself.

Duster gave a knowing smile at the boy's misfortune, "Looks like the hot-headed Princess needs you. Be careful she doesn't burn you or something."

Claus gave a small gulp as an uneasy knot tighten in his stomach, wondering what could Kumatora want with him.

The young boy hesitantly walked over to her, "Uh... yes... Miss Kumatora?" he hoped if he's as polite as possible, she won't hurt him too much.

The pink-haired Princess was frowning to herself and looked deep in thought. She looked the opposite of relaxed, even though she was in the hot spring.

"Okay, first off, quit with all the politeness crap. I know it's you now Claus."

The boy was a little taken aback by this, and Kumatora immediately noticed this.

"Oh come on, I'm not angry at you Claus, I'm just curious about some things."

Claus gave a small sigh and tried to relax a bit, "What do you want to know then? I'll answer the best I can."

Despite what Kumatora said, Claus was still trying to act polite. It could be his fear of her, or it could be three years of discipline of being in an army, or maybe he's more like Lucas than he had thought.

She just nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Alright, first off... Your PSI. When did you even get it? And why couldn't I sense it? I thought you were acting strange back then now that I think about it, but how come I couldn't feel your PSI aura?"

It was then Claus remembered he never did get that new bracelet from Dr. Andonuts, not that he needed it anymore.

"I got it three years ago, not too longer after Lucas awakened his. You couldn't sense it because I was given a special bracelet that suppresses my PSI aura from anyone who can sense it," Claus answered as clearly as he could for her.

She frowned at that. "That soon? I didn't expect that... Is that when you joined the Pig..." she took a deep breath and continued, "The Pigmasks. They were the ones who did that, weren't they? Suppressed your PSI?"

"Yes," Claus confirmed. "You and Lucas were out training that day. I was out in the forest to collect some mushrooms when I had the PSI fever. I guess Fassad must've sensed it since he was the closest Magypsy at the time when I had the PSI fever, and he took me in. That was when he and Master Porky told me about the Needles and the legend behind the Dark Dragon."

"... And you joined them after that?" Kumatora asked. Claus couldn't tell if she was accusing him or just genuinely curious.

Claus gave a small sigh before he answered, "Yes. I felt like I owed it to them for saving me from the Mecha Drago that attacked me in the forest... and I guess I just wanted to break out of my brother's shadow for once, and be able to do something separately from him. I didn't realize that it would boil down to us being enemies... but I guess it should've been obvious the minute I heard the legend."

She sighed at his response. "You know... As much as I really want to, I can't stay angry at you, Claus. You're still Lucas's caring older brother, even if he says sometimes how much you tease him. You sound like you had your reasons, but..." The hot spring looked like it shot up to a much higher temperature as a bright red light shined in the water near Kumatora. "Dang it, Claus. You could have just told us too. I really hate seeing how much your timid brother has been ever since he found out you were the Commander, and it's only been a few days."

"I wanted to tell you! I did... and to Lucas most of all, but I couldn't," Claus answered quickly. "I was ordered not to show my identity to anyone, not even Lucas. They told me that it would only make the villagers go against me if they ever find out... and as the years went by, so did my own fear of how Lucas and Dad would react."

"They told you THAT? Stupid pig-headed..." Kumatora grumbled before sighing to herself. "I... guess it can't really be helped anymore. Just take care of your brother, alright? He really doesn't want to hurt anyone, least of all you. I tell him to toughen up a little bit, but I guess that's why he was chosen to pull the Needles."

Claus hesitated, but there was something he wanted to talk to her about that involved the Needles and himself.

"Hey, Kumatora... do you really believe that the world and all the people living in it can be saved by awakening the Dragon? Fassad told me that in order to rebirth the world, the Dragon has to destroy it first, and that would mean we would die along with this world. Would you and the Magypsies have told me to pull the Needles along with Lucas had I not been found by Fassad first?"

She didn't even think before answering. "Of course the Dark Dragon will save everyone." Then she realized what she just said, "... Oh. Fassad said that, huh? I don't really trust that guy, and I wouldn't be surprised if he just said that to lure you in. But if we found you with PSI along with Lucas? Yeah, I'd say we'd have you pulling Needles alongside your brother too. If that heart of yours is as good as Lucas makes it sound." she responded, smirking.

Claus couldn't help but give a small chuckle, "You really believe the Dragon won't kill us all, huh? I wish I could be that confident. I don't believe Fassad is a bad guy, he's always been helping me. And the ironic thing is... I have been pulling the Needles too, granted they were by mistake, but... It makes me wonder who's side I'm really on."

"You two are a lot alike, you know. You're both stubborn, overprotective with Lucas, like to argue with me and you both use offensive PSI," They heard Boney said.

Kumatora didn't even bother responding to Claus - all her attention was focused right on Boney, and it wasn't very happy.

"HEY! Quiet, you! I was actually speaking with our Commander Claus here on friendly terms!" She splashed some water at Boney in annoyance.

Boney yipped at the sudden splash of hot water on his fur.

"What was THAT for!? I was just saying you two are a lot alike!" Boney snapped. "Don't you agree with me, Claus?"

"Oh please leave me out of it, Boney," Claus grumbled.

"What's wrong? Too afraid to take a dip?" Boney gave an evil smirk, which is impressive for a dog, making Claus uneasy.

"No! I just don't want to get into the same tub as a lady!" Claus shouted, his face turning red.

Kumatora was gnashing her teeth too, her face flushed and staring daggers at the dog. "Oh, how about you, huh? You must be FILTHY after going so long without a bath." She splashed even more water at the dog, each splash spiked with a super high temperature of PK Fire.

Boney began to whimper as he ran across the limo and tackled Duster by accident. Duster gave a small scream when he was scorched by the hot water Kumatora splashed on him while she was aiming for Boney.

Claus sweatdropped at this before Boney and Duster gave a deadpanned look, then they suddenly gave an evil grin as they looked at the boy.

"... Uh-oh..." Claus quickly ran the opposite direction.

Duster and Boney ran after Claus, but as they were passing the hot spring, Kumatora grabbed Boney's tail, which made him whine in shock as he grabbed one of Duster's leg, who wobbled and fell but grabbed Claus's foot.

Claus yelped as he fell on his face just in front of Lucas, who was watching them on the seat and was blinking.

"Lucas! Help!" Claus yelled as Kumatora started dragging the chain towards her.

Lucas just watched in great confusion at the spectacle in front of him. "U-um... What are you doi- WAH!"

He yelped when Claus grabbed onto his leg.

Before Lucas or Claus could do anything, they were suddenly dragged into the hot spring with a big SPLASH! All four people and a dog were now in the tub together.

Claus found himself blinking along with the others around him, as if shocked what just happened, before Duster began chuckling, which lead to Kumatora chuckling, then Lucas and himself. Soon all four of them were full out laughing together, soaked in the hot spring. Boney just gave a small pouty whine, but he didn't seem angry or upset.

Claus laughed as he felt better than he had felt in three years before he pointed at his brother, and said while laughing, "Lucas, your hair is dripping!"

Lucas just shook his head and smiled at Claus. "What about you, Claus? You're all soaked too!"

"I'M all soaked! You're all lucky you don't have fur that soaks up this water!" Boney whined.

"Aw man, this jacket does not go with water!" Claus groaned as Lucas just laughed.

"What a nice way to break the ice with the Commander, eh Princess?" Duster chuckled as he gave a light elbow to Kumatora's shoulder.

She just rolled her eyes. "Oh please, blame the dog! I was having a very nice conversation with him until he ruined it!"

Even though Boney was dismayed at being completely soaked, he still sounded proud- or at least as proud as a dog can sound- when he responded, "Hey, it was better than that dramatic and serious conversation you were having, you looked like you were giving him a hard time!"

Claus couldn't help but kind of agree with that. But he didn't say it out loud.

But Claus did feel a lot better around Duster and Kumatora now, they were tough people when they want to be, but they're also very nice people, even if one of them is a thief and the other has a wrath of a volcano.

"Hey! We're almost at New Pork City! You can see the horizon from here!" Claus heard the chauffeur's voice, using a speaker to talk to them clearly.

"Looks like we're almost there," Claus said, though he wished the happy moment would've lasted longer.

Lucas looked slightly disappointed also, having to leave this comfortable limo where each of their alliances didn't matter. He was the first to look out the windows of the limousine, a shocked expression clear on his face.

"W-whoa... this is New Pork City? It's..." Words couldn't express his awe and slight nervousness.

Claus and the others got out of the hot springs to look out the window as well, seeing a huge neon place with many tall buildings, it almost looked unreal.

"Wow... so this is New Pork City..." Claus said in awe, seeing it for the first time what Porky had been working on for all these years.

I guess this is it... first we explore the city and find Master Porky... Good or bad, it looks like things will be settled once and for all.

FanofFiction123: I know, seeing it end is probably one of the hardest things to do with a fun story, but it's also the most satisfying. There are other stories you can check out if you want. ^^' As for that line and scene, it was because of that deleted scene I thought about it. Fyre here makes a good Lucas it seems. :3 He'll always be squished by meeeeee.

Donfyre: *his voice is heard from below* Y-you didn't have to remind everyone, Fox. *sweatdrops*

DarkFoxKit: You have to stay quiet, my little chair. c:

Shimo no ko: Yay, fluffy fluff! And yup, Claus was pretty certain Lucas hated him now that he knew his secret. I'm also a big fan of when characters go through their minds and dreams, and I didn't like how there was no Magicant in Mother 3, so this was a good chance to use it in the story. As for Dreams and Reality… I feel like I've seen that before, but I'm not sure. And Boney is a loyal dog despite his sassy attitude, so to him hurting Claus is like hurting his own puppy. And that's the beauty of having two different people working on two different characters on opposing arguments; there's usually no bias, plus both of them are right in a way. And thank you for being patient with us. ^^'

sunflowermaiden210: Good, that means we did a good job at making you love the characters. :3 I'm glad you loved how Boney reacted in this chapter. Let's hope the brothers can keep getting along.

Bloxxerstudios1: Porky didn't get involved too much because I didn't want to accidentally reveal his… erm… backstory too early. But he's much more prominent in the final chapters.

Joltik12: You've been crying? Heh, I like seeing how so many people felt bad for Claus, I'm glad we got people attached to him and understand his struggles. And Fyre inspired this story when he gave me an English ROM of Mother 3, and he's fun to write with. Uh… marry? Well then… Fyre, would you like to be my husband? :3 And I always want to make my books good. XP

Donfyre: W-wha!? … *his face was suddenly all red* … I-I don't have to answer that.

DarkFoxKit: Who needs an electric heating blanket when you've got a chair that heats up all by itself? :3 I am DarkFoxKit, my blushy little fire red Wooper is Donfyre, and we look forward to hearing from you!