Through Thick and Thin

by RainyTazmily

As Ness struggles to wrestle back strange feelings for his best friend, Lucas wonders over the long-term holes in his own memory. Celebrity life as a Smasher has never been so difficult. Earthbound/Mother3 Time Paradox AU. Teenage Nesscas AU.

37. Treble in Paradise

When I open my eyes, I find myself at the peak of a mountain.

I know this place.

Peach's voice echoes in rewind. Mount Thumbelina. Smallest of the Five major peaks around Smash City. Nearest peak to Sunshine Shrine. Named because it was believed Master Hand had carved out its caves and valleys with nothing but his ego and thumb. I was here on a summer retreat with the Twelve before the very first SMASH tournament. It's the perfect place to play hide and seek. I remember being super proud of myself, because Captain Falcon spent an entire hour busting his ass to find me. It's a place of happy memories.

But not today.

As I take the scenic route down the twisted summit, I make multiple tries to reconnect with Lucas's empathy link. But when my phone buzzes a while later, I know he's fallen for good.

Lucas is here at the mountain.

And whoever defeated him might be here too.

Up here, I make out Police helicopters buzzing around Smash City, headed straight for the Mansion. Somewhere nearby, on this mountain, Lucas's Phone last pinged him alive. For a hot second, I regret coming alone. I wish Paula or Poo were here. Even Jeff. I could use some extra backup. But we need people to hold fort at the Mansion, and I'm not risking more hostages. If the Mansion falls, we're all screwed. I trust them to hold their ground.

Squinting my eyes against the wind, I guide myself down the mountain. You bet I'm fucking nervous, and my grip keeps slipping on my phone, because despite all the chaos, Lucas's phone is somehow still on. Upon defeat, whatever possessions we have on us are petrified along with us. Either Lucas gave away his phone willingly, or someone wrestled his phone from him by force.

What's especially shitty about Lucas's disappearance is the timing. There's only one way we can track down individual trophies, and that's using the Control Room back in the Mansion... which was overrun by bots half an hour ago. Awfully convenient, if you ask me.

I could be walking into a trap.

As I climb down, the layout of the caves starts returning to me. Vaguely. It's less "I remember every specific detail", and more "oh yeah, I remember hiding in this cave," but it's a start. Who knew that hide-and-seek would actually pay off? Still, it's ridiculously hard to keep a low profile as I track down Lucas's phone signal, because the night's dark even with the full moon, and the wind keeps blowing smoke into my face-

...Smoke?

I follow my gut to what looks like a campfire. There's activity, lots of it, and excited voices. Biting off a curse, I duck behind a boulder. First Porkybots, now this. How many fucking mercenaries did Porky hire?

"-re lucky. The bullet punctured your shoulder and missed your carotid artery-"

"Sit down, Alec. Let Tessie pick out shrapnel from your leg-"

"-ighter, unhand me! My grandson's out there-"

"It'll be fine. Guys, Lucas fought off those Porkybots. He's probably taking a while to hike up here-"

"You've already said that ages ago, Kumatora! Where is he now? Do you think he turned tail and abandoned us-"

A bloodcurdling growl from behind interrupts my espionage. I turn around. A Tyrannosaurus Rex towers over me Jurassic Park style. It cocks its head, and with a gulp, my eyes flicker to the moonlight glancing off its hide. It's slick with blood.

It yowls.

I'm about to be dino dinner.

My cover busted, I fling my secret weapon from my pocket. "Rope Snake!" I yell, and Rope Snake flies out of my hand, looping around the dino's jaws and snapping them shut. The Dino cuts itself off with a whine, blindly stomping around like it's got pins and needles.

Then someone slams my flailing form into the ground.

"Who're you, punk," a voice suddenly hisses. Out of my ringing vision, I hear a wet snap as people pry Rope Snake off its opponent. Shit, I knew I'd regret sleeping through Snake's silent infiltration talk last year. Whoever busted me grinds my face deeper into the dirt (double ow), an experience I don't recommended doing at home, 10 out of 10. "Did Porky send you?"

"Ow, no! What did you do with Lucas?"

"I don't know what you're talking about-"

"You have his phone!"

The grip on the back of my head tenses. I prepare to blast this fucker with PK Fire until another voice interrupts us - a woman drops her first aid kit to grab Kumatora by the elbow.

"Wait. I think he's friendly. Look."

The person gripping the back of my head yanks me closer to the campfire. The flames illuminate several faces, including the person who caught me - a girl with flaming pink hair. After years at a fighting tourney and hearing about how unstealthy I am, you'd think I would've gotten used to getting my ass whooped, but it's still pretty humiliating how easily I botched my undercover mission.

But as her grip on me tightens, I get this weird tingly feeling, the same kind of feeling I have around Paula and Lucas. This girl's a psychic. By the feel of it, a PSI empath like me.

She snorts. "What am I supposed to be looking at, Tessie?"

"His face, Kumatora."

"So?"

"He's a Smasher."

"I have proof," I say quickly. "The insignia. Check my phone. If you don't believe me, ask Rope Snake."

Shooting me another suspicious look, Kumatora keeps a steady grip with one hand, and rifles through my pockets with another to pull out my phone and ID. She squints. "So you're... Ness. Okay sure, but you could've stolen these-"

I impatiently flick my fingers, directing a bolt of lightning at the campfire, and the people around us scatter with a shocked exclamation. "That good enough?"

Reluctantly, Kumatora lets me go, saving my hairline from early baldness. "You got jumped on so easily, I wouldn't have guessed you for a smasher."

I ignore the jab. "Lucas gave you his phone. Did something happen to him?"

Returning my things - and a disgruntled Rope Snake - Kumatora breaks into a bitter laugh. "You could say that. Just now, this greedy bastard named Porky Minch invaded Tazmily and tried to kidnap the villagers for ransom. Lucas and I held his forces back, but we split up because Porky held his grandfather hostage. Then one of the baby Dragos, the one you frightened by sneaking around our campsite- thanks a lot for that -"

"Baby Drago?"

The Dino creature gives a pitiful whine, then nips at my hat.

"Right. No hard feelings. Anyways, a while back, this little guy runs off, then arrives with Lucas's grandfather bleeding half to death-" Kumatora points at a wheezing old man behind the campfire. "-and Lucas himself is nowhere to be seen. Oh yeah, and these are the Tazmily Villagers. Most of them. One of the stragglers arrived with Lighter and his son, but ran off when I said Lucas wasn't here, and I just can't-" She throws up her arms. "Gah! I've already called for help, but the Police aren't picking up-"

"That's because we were under attack too. I saw a whole horde of police before I left, so they must have all gone to the Mansi... oh," I say slowly, realization dawning. "...Shit. That was all a diversion."

"A diversion? What're you talking about?"

"I think I know what happened. But right now, I gotta find Lucas-"

"No dice."

"What?"

"I don't trust you," Kumatora says grimly. "You might be a goddammed Smasher, but if that's how you fight, you're not gonna last long. I thought Lucas's magic was on another tier of its own, but here we are. I wish I can go search for him, but what I do know is that he wanted us to protect the villagers, so you should do the same-"

"I'll get him back."

Kumatora crosses her arms. "Oh really? D'you know how much time's passed since the attack? You're already late."

"You wouldn't know if you don't try-"

"Who are you to say I didn't fucking try?! You sure took your time coming here while we were saving lives!"

"I never said you didn't- augh! Can you just tell me where you last saw-"

"Stop."

The old man from earlier limps in between us. Staring at him dumbstruck, even the Tazmily Villagers quiet down, leaving only the scrape of his sandals and the sound of his bloody bandages trailing against the dirt.

He turns the full force of his eyes on me. It's familiar somehow. "You-" he coughs. "...You a Smasher?"

Intimidated, I manage a nod.

Shuffling closer, the old man unsteadily reaches out to me, clutching my upper arm with his wiry hands. Despite his weakening voice, the force of the grip and the desperation behind it surprise me.

"Please-" His grip tightens. "Please." His hands shake. His voice cracks. "...Please."

No one dares to break the silence as Lucas's grandfather breaks down in front of me.

It's too fucking painful to hear.

I press my hands over his. "I-I'll bring him back," I promise, the words searing my throat. "Lucas knows what he's doing. He wouldn't have gone down without a fight."

Just like that, Kumatora drops the argument. Despite our rocky start, I know she cares. I can tell she wants to save Lucas just as much as I do. She just couldn't leave the villagers behind.

"Sorry," I mumble to her. Kumatora only jerks her head to the side.

"Just go."

---

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~Chapter Thirty-Seven~

Treble in Paradise

(alt. Versus PKMN Trainer Red)

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When I teleport to Sunshine Shrine, I have to blink profusely. I think I've gone blind. The residual smoke is so bad that it makes me tear up worse than my cousin Ninten on an asthmatic seizure.

Then I realize there's nothing to see... because there is no forest. Any remaining trees are bare, charred and shriveled. What the fuck happened here?

To my growing confusion, a barricade of Police cars catch my eye. There's yellow tape too, barring any potential wanderers from trespassing. So law enforcement did arrive here after all. Did they call the Fire Station? And where's the ambulance? Shouldn't they be on scene too?

Oh well. Only one way to find out.

I duck under the police tape and traipse into the forest.

The cherry blossom forest - or what's left of it - gives scant cover. I can't exactly stay undercover if the entire forest floor's strewn with dead leaves and other dead shit that crunches under my shoes, but I do my best to track Lucas down, trying to remember which way Lucas would head off to for Tazmily, but all the trees look the same: dry, black, and cracked.

I trek deeper into the forest.

My phone's running out of juice when I find obvious signs of a fight in a charred cluster of trees. Rope Snake tastes it first, wrinkling his face from the scent. But he doesn't need to tell me; Lucas's magic makes the hair on my arms stand before I see it. Spikes of magical frost. Branches splotched with blood. Bark peppered with bullets. I almost miss the next clue when I slip on another stray bullet and fall face-first into another pile of dead leaves.

A shoe.

Lucas's shoe.

There's no sign of its owner anywhere.

I grip tighter onto the yo-yo in my pocket. If Porky's already left, he couldn't have gone far. I'll follow any tracks to a hideout, and bust him there. I'm not leaving empty-handed.

Rope Snake hisses, "Hear ss-ssomething?" and I freeze.

Voices. Over by a clearing.

"Lay low," I whisper, hiding behind a fallen tree trunk.

"Ss-sure," he grumbles, sliding back into my pocket. "Let p-poor deaf Rope Snake do a-a-all the hard work."

I strain my ears. It sounds like two people. They're walking closer, from the sounds of it.

"-address your failure when the Porky bots finish cleaning up your mess-"

"Pardon me, my mess?"

Captain Strong? Is that the Onett Police?

What the fuck are they doing here?

"-under investigation for the SkyTrain, Captain Strong. I gave you 30 rounds per man, and you wasted it all on jailbait. Your incompetence is staggering."

"The mission was a success," Strong argues, his platoon of men trudging into view. One eye's badly bruised.

"You failed to recover the Tazmily Villagers."

"They got away. The boy refused to be ah, persuaded to reveal their whereabouts under questioning-"

"-but not even a single villager?" Porky wheezes. "Not even a single man, woman, or child?"

Strong fidgets. "...No."

"How unfortunate." Porky groans. "I sell you the prettiest blossoms to deflower, Strong. Nymphlets. Pretty little lolitas begging for a good fuck. I promise you a fraction of my forces, I promise to show up in person for the grand finale, yet you've failed to deliver on your word. Disappointing."

"I'm very sorry, Master Porky-"

"I requested two things: the boy, and the Tazmily Villagers. I told you, either capture the villagers alive, or raze them all to the ground. Cull the elderly. Slaughter the weak. But you bring me your ugly mug, and tell me that all the villagers, all the children - all those promising beauties I could've sold in my Grand Auction - are gone. What a waste." A wheeze. "I hate losing profit, Strong. I don't leave witnesses alive."

"I know you don't," Strong says, quaking in his boots. "B-But can you believe the nerve of the boy? Did you hear what he said to me? He said that you brainwashed people to like you, because no one else would-"

"Lies."

"-and he said you were a coward who ran away the second Ness beat you in his adventure-"

"I'll kill him. Again and again. Until he confesses where the Villagers are. I'll make him grovel at my feet and beg for forgiveness," Porky groans. "No one slanders my glorious name."

"No. Of course not, sir."

Perfect. They're in striking distance. I'm about to jump them when loud footsteps catch my attention.

From my right, a man barrels into the scene, wielding a piece of lumber. There's a scuffle and several yelps before the Onett Police retaliate, subduing a panting man against the dirt. I recognize the man by the brim of his cowboy hat.

Porky laughs. He looks like his birthday's come early. "Well, look who we have here."

"You-" Flint grunts, cut off when Strong kicks him in the side.

Porky waves Strong away. "No, no... I want to hear him talk. Let's listen to what papa bear has to say," he says in amusement, and the four lackeys keep Flint pinned against the ground. "Mister Flint... the outstanding father who sold me his only son. To what do I owe you for this surprise visit?"

"Take me instead."

"You? What for?"

"I gave you the money yesterday. You promised... you wouldn't touch my son."

"I don't remember agreeing to any of this on paper. Do you, boys?" The Onett Police jeer. Porky raises his hands magnanimously. "Come now, Flint. Give your son some credit. He's a strong lad. I'm sure he can take anything." Porky's smile widens. "Up the ass."

The Police laugh at the stupid joke. Flint makes a furious effort as if to rise at the ridicule, but he's held back by sheer number.

"You must understand, Flint. Your son, as much of a worthless faggy retard he is, is clearly worth a considerable sum of money. If you want to see your son again, repay the debt, money upfront. If you don't have enough, well... I can't promise I'll keep Lucas's sanity intact."

Flint digs his fists deeper into the dirt in helpless fury as the police search him.

"Why don't we take the man with us?" Strong says, giving Flint a one-over. "He could be useful in forcing the boy to cooperate-"

"He's a pathetic husk of a man. I don't need him," Porky wheezes. "Lads, show me what's in his wallet."

The Police toss the contents into the dirt. Credit cards. A few coins. One Smash Bill.

Porky guffaws. "No wonder! You're less than worthless! And you wanted to trade yourself for your son! This almost makes me feel sorry for Lucas!" When the nearest officer laughs along with him, Flint lashes out. Catching the fist, Strong delivers an unlucky kick to the head, and Flint collapses. He doesn't move again.

Shit. Another hostage. This wasn't how I planned to start this fight.

Time for Plan B.

"Rope Snake," I plead. He's my only hope. I can't get closer without blowing my cover. I don't speak Snake, but Rope Snake understands. Looping the tip of his tail around my hand in a stronghold, he slithers over my arm and into the cover of the forest floor.

Porky slips out a Dark Gun from his pocket. "After all the trouble I've gone through, I think Lucas deserves a parting gift. I heard that Lucas lost his mother at a tender age. I don't see why I should stop halfway. I'll even record the footage this time for Lucas to keep some lasting memories. I'm sure he'll appreciate the generous gesture-"

"PK FIRE!" The spell forces the police to jump back from Flint with yells of shock. In the blink of an eye, Rope Snake leaps up in a flash, constricting around the Dark Gun and crushing it over Porky's hand. With a bellow of pain, Porky tries to grab Rope Snake with his fat fists, but misses when I yoink Rope Snake back like an elastic band.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TEACH YOU THIS LESSON, OLD MAN?!" I scream, and the officers instinctively scream back in terror and raise their guns at me. I can taste their fear spiking through the air. Fucking cowards.

"It's Ness!" Strong yells. His shocked face would've been funny, if I wasn't busy being so pissed off.

But Porky's face has gone blotchy red. When I charge over like a flailing banshee, Porky demands, "WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?"

"I don't know!"

"You heard the boss! Open fire!"

The guns furiously click away. It's no use.

Lucas took all the bullets for the team.

"We're out of ammo, Captain Strong sir!"

"Then drug him!"

"W-We've run out of gas too," the other grunt says shakily.

The blistering heat of my rage forces Porky and the policemen to scramble backwards, buffeting them into a corner and paralyzing them with fear. I'm too fucking angry to care that I've already hit that point where I'm having a hard time controlling my emotions, and don't find much reason to try. My fingers rapidly spit out magic like embers, rippling heatwaves and chewing through air in uncontrollable glee.

"Don't just stand there! Attack him, you idiots!"

"Are you crazy, boss?! He's flying-"

Flying? When I look down, the sane part of me realizes that I'm floating from the ground like a ghost from a horror movie. Telekinesis? Nice.

"I hope all of you bought Life Insurance, because none of you are worth shit!" I draw my fist back. When my hands crackle again with magic, the four goons flinch and cower under my anger, before throwing themselves at my feet.

"S-Spare us-"

"Have mercy-"

"Get up, you fools! Master Porky says he's on our side," Strong says, regaining composure. Crawling over to me, he tries to stretch his bruised mouth into a smile, but that only makes his face look more punchable. "Master Ness, this is ah, a huge misunderstanding-" When I sock him in the other eye, Strong crumples to the floor with a wail. "How dare you! You can't do this to me-"

"Get over here, all of you. I don't care what fucking race you are, a piece of shit is still a piece of shit-"

"What are you doing?" Porky blubbers, his face gaunt as I make short work of the Onett police and turn to him. The flare of the flames brightens out all the wrinkles in Porky's face, making him look more my age. "Why do you keep ruining my plans?!"

"Funny you ask," I snarl, wiping my bloody hand. As Strong lunges over for a second helping of punch, I encase my fist in flames. He wisely backs off from my threat like a defeated dog, limping to the ground to nurse his bruised eyes. "You wiped out half of Lucas's family, hurt and brainwashed lots of innocent people, and almost destroyed the entire world twice. Oh yeah, and you tried to kill me several times-"

"You got it all wrong. I set you free."

"...What?!"

"I'm your best friend! This whole time, I was trying to preserve your life! The SkyTrain, the Mansion-" When I'm struck dumb, he mistakes this as a good sign and hastily hurries on, eager to share his motives. "Don't you see? I knew I could keep you safe if I trophified you as part of my collection. I promise, I would've woken you up! It was just easier this way. You wouldn't have to be too busy to see me anymore. I could keep you close. You'll forever be at my side, as my friend! We could be immortal, together! But-" Porky clenches his fists. "But you really hurt my feelings when you spoke to me like that in the Limo. Like I wasn't your trusted pal. It made me so angry-" Porky breaks out into a furious series of hacking. "But I did some thinking like you said... and I realized you're right. This wasn't your fault. None of it was! There's no reason for you turn me down. No one ever turns me down, not anyone, not ever. I, the Great Master Porky, heard your plea! You were asking me for help. Lucas was controlling your mind, and you needed me to save you from his delusion. Of course, you've always been too much of a sap to do stuff like this, so I got rid of him for you. You're welcome."

I stare at him. "You're crazy. You've officially gone bonkers."

"I know, this sounds too good to be true. I'll torture Lucas until he fesses, and you can punish him yourself for turning you gay-"

"Yeah, sure."

"Really?"

"No, you doughnut!" I take out my yo-yo. "Give him back."

"What're you talking about-"

"Your lies don't work on me anymore. I know you killed Lucas." I'm shaking. "Give him back."

The magical fire crackles around us.

Even with Strong and his men down, Porky doesn't flinch. His voice turns soft from a deranged fervor. It's creepier than his usual wheeze. "Did you love him, Ness? Did you treat him nice and gentle? The same way his brother did?"

"You have some nerve to talk about Claus-"

"Did you know Lucas loved his brother? I heard. I played his game. How many times do you think the loser sucked his brother's cock-"

"Of course you'd say that, that's the only kind of love you know," I say in disgust. "I'm done. You're seriously pissing me off, so hand him back or else-"

A triumphant laugh. "Or else what? You'll kill me? Didn't you hear me?! No one can. I'm immortal-"

"Don't care. I'll take you down."

"You don't have the guts."

Silence.

Porky's smile wavers. "...you wouldn't."

"I will, if I have to," I say quietly, taking out my yo-yo.

A myriad of emotions flickers across Porky's face before it contorts into an ugly grimace of realization. "Wait a minute... That's my yo-yo."

This drives a wrench of confusion into my anger. "What? No, it's not-"

"It's MINE! Givvit back!" Porky screams in a childish tantrum, all semblance of sanity gone. When he lurches forward with his weight, his grubby hands outstretched for my yo-yo, I hurl it around like a boomerang. Adding to the length of the yo-yo, Rope Snake loops around his body before I yank the other end of the string taut. His arms pinned uselessly to his side, Porky collapses at my feet, pathetic 300 lbs and all, shaking the ground with the force of a baby elephant. Thank Palutena, I don't have to worry about the yo-yo breaking under Porky's weight, because Master Hand's charmed its string to be unsnappable - even for tying up a fatass like Porky.

"You'll never ruin my life-" Porky gasps, squirming around when I pin him down by the shoulders. "You'll never win, you'll never take it away from me-"

Out of the tiniest sliver of hope, I hoped I could make him repent. I hoped I could make him see the error of his ways. Somehow. But from the second I touch his arm, I know that he's too far gone.

His heart's too twisted and knotted.

I can't help him.

Something explodes. I double over coughing in the sudden smoke when Porky's yanked out of my grip with my yo-yo, out of sight. When the smoke clears, I spot a tied-up Porky being lifted back into his Spider Mech, one of its many spindly legs hooking him up by the back of his shirt. Rope Snake cries out, wriggling around Porky's body to free himself from my yo-yo string.

"Ness, you insufferable idiot! You epic, world-class loser," Porky gasps. "You'll never beat me. You'll never stop me. I'll take whatever I want, everyone and everything you love, until you understand the great pain and suffering that I, the Great Master Porky, feel. Spankety-spankety-spankety!"

"GIVE LUCAS BACK, YOU FAT FUCK!"

When I try to teleport, a stray bough punches into my stomach. Coughing, I stagger up. Shit, there's too many damn trees in the way. Weaving in between the dead trees, I run after Porky on foot, but closing its glass capsule, the Spider Mech outspeeds me and whizzes away.

I stare after the dot in the sky.

...He's gone.

I've lost him, again.

No. I had him, and now I've lost Lucas and Rope Snake in one go. I whirl around to punch a tree or something, when a red blur falls from the heavens and smacks me in the face.

"Wh- ow!"

"Am s-sneaky."

"Rope Snake?!"

"Don't feel too g-good," Rope Snake says, his bulging mouth muffling a groan. He doubles over like he's gonna be sick, then hacks up a familiar golden amiibo into my hands. Somehow, he's done it. He's successfully played on Porky's distraction over my yo-yo to pull off the impossible.

I got what I came here for.

When the police sirens wail louder in my ears, I crouch by Flint's prone form, my fingers clutching tighter onto Lucas's amiibo.

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~oO0Oo~

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Smash Police safely escort the Tazmily Villagers back into the city, but with nowhere to go, Master Hand takes them in for the night. For the most part, they huddle in the half-wrecked lounge looking lost, either sobbing or stuck in silent shock, their shoulders wracked with relief, terror, grief, or a bizarre mixture of all three. Paramedics check on the unconscious. My stomach jolts when I still see Flint lying limp on the ground.

As they process the end of the fucking disaster, a few of them grow rather vocal.

"I kn-knew we shouldn't have trusted Lucas," one of the villagers mutters, shivering in his blanket. "What else would you expect from Alec's grandson? Fraternizing with thieves and Magypsies... Crazy bastards, the whole bloodline-"

"You're one to talk, Butch. At least Lucas didn't turn tail and run like you did," Kumatora retorts, but Butch flusters over her, too overtaken by his own venting.

"He saw us as bait! He told you to take us with you, so he could make a run for it-"

"He saved us," someone else argues.

"He failed to save the town!"

"I heard some funny things about that boy. They say he can read minds-"

"I heard he was a homosexual-"

"Well what else do you expect from a boy who spreads his legs for anyone?!" There's a furious transition to Japanese when I hear some of the villagers agree, joining in on the mob mentality, and I suddenly get it. All those times Lucas returned from the village upset, but trying not to be. All those times Lucas tried to put up a facade whenever I worried over him, and told me not to worry about it.

My temper boils over the pot.

When I drop in front of them and cross my arms, they hurriedly clam up, refusing to meet my eyes. "You're all awfully chatty. Go on, I wanna hear about Lucas being a slut too-"

"Ness," Paula whispers, shooting the offending villagers a warning look. "I know it sounds bad, and I'm not excusing these people, but they just lost their homes in a forest fire. They're probably too scared and frustrated to think-"

"Yeah they're tired, but apparently not tired enough to gossip," I snap. "What, you having fun picking on a kid half your age? No wonder Lucas looked so damn miserable every time he left Tazmily. You've been bullying him behind his back this entire time-"

"Bullying? Us?!" The man named Butch furiously blusters. "He's been nothing but trouble ever since he arrived! He ruined our lives, and you say that we gave him a hard time-"

I explode. "How ungrateful do you have to be?! Lucas sacrificed himself to save you, but all of you are too damn busy talking shit about him and squabbling over a bunch of stupid rumors to realize how much he's done for you, you entitled assholes- no Paula, I'm saying it-" I raise my voice over Paula's attempts to hold me back. "Lucas spent more time this past month bending his back over for you, but all you can do is bitch and complain about his personal life. Who fucking cares about what the media's said about him? Despite all that, he's been there for you when you needed him. He tried to warn you about Porky's drugs, he treated you when half of you got poisoned, and he fucking did his best to protect all of you when Porky burned the village down. Now if you're done slandering the one person who really cares about you and the village, then I suggest you fuck off and leave him alone, you selfish prats-"

The double doors crash open.

"Tinkle, kindly show the Tazmily Villagers their accommodations for the night, and allow our medical professionals to treat them. I'm sure they've had a busy day. Ike, Shulk, please escort them. Leave the unconscious here, let the paramedics move them to the Hospital Ward-"

"Master Hand-" I start.

"I just received word that I'm needed in the Mansion, and am not in the mood for playing mediator," Master Hand says wearily, snapping his fingers. The Mansion begins resurrecting itself. "What... happened here, Ness?"

Swallowing down my frustration, I tell my side of the story. As soon as I finish, Zelda and Paula fill him in on their side. Turns out, I was right to leave Paula and Jeff behind. While I was gone, the Smashers took the Mansion back right after the Porky Bots retreated, leaving no sign that they had been there from the beginning.

Except for one thing.

The Twelve were gone.

But that's still not the worst of it.

Lucas wouldn't respond, no matter how many times I touched the base of his amiibo. Whenever I tried waking him, his amiibo refused to, instead pulsating with a wash of red light.

Master Hand blanches at my explanation. Without any time to waste, he whizzes Lucas's amiibo over to the Hospital Ward.

Even with Mario gone, the medical team at the mansion worked as quickly as they always did. I've finished catching up with Paula and Jeff about Porky when Master Hand floats back into the waiting room.

I jump to my feet. "How is he-?"

"He's been tortured. Badly," Master Hand says quietly, dropping Lucas's amiibo back into my hands. I feel like he's punched me in the face. "The details are... better left confidential, but Lucas sustained so much physical damage that his body still needs time to heal."

I swallow. "I... I didn't know that was a thing."

"It's a highly unusual case, but not unheard of. The last case of this happened to Mario, about a year ago. Ridley inflicted enough damage for Mario to stay out of commission for a week, if you recall."

"No, I don't."

"Hmm... no matter. Thankfully, physical damage isn't a problem. Lucas will heal in his petrified state. How long, we'll see. But psychologically-" Master Hand hesitates. "I'm not so sure. It's hard to say. Though I preserve your lives in this world in the form of trophies, frequent death won't be healthy for your mental state. Especially after such a violent death like this one."

The kicker is that later that night, I return to the apartment to find Lucas's Valentine's gift on my bed.

Nyeh.

I'm not a sappy person. But I know you like chocolate, and I know you like food. Gramps taught me how to make mochi last week, so I gave it another shot.

Happy chococorp day.

P.S. Don't eat them all at once.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

I first keep Lucas in the apartment, tucking his amiibo into his bed. He can't hear me in this state, but I still talk to him whenever I can. It's stupid, but I don't want him to miss out on too much, after I let him down. I was surrounded by Porky bots too, but at least I wasn't alone in the attack.

Mom calls me in the middle of the night. I haven't heard her sound this terrified since Subspace. "-Ness?! I heard that the mansion was under attack!"

"It's okay, mom. Master Hand's back. Are you okay?"

"We're safe. Some men went after your sister, but I heard that the bodyguards caught them before she left school-"

"Some people went after Tracy?!"

"I know," Mom says grimly. "I think we'll have to move somewhere safe for a while, but we're okay."

"Porky's sending hitmen after everyone. I'll ask Master Hand to send over more bodyguards-"

"But you're safe?"

"Yeah, I am."

"I hope so... Aye. How's Lucas? Poor boy must have been rattled by the attack on the Mansion-"

I swallow, trying to unstick my throat. "...He's okay."

"Good, glad to hear you boys are safe."

"Yeah," I say quietly. "Me too."

Next morning, Kumatora finally returns Lucas's phone. When I see his phone record, my stomach drops like a stone. He'd called Law Enforcement. He'd called the Mansion. He'd called me.

But no one had shown up to help him.

He probably thought he was all alone.

Fuck.

When three days pass with no sign of Lucas waking, Master Hand eventually moves Lucas back to the hospital ward and upped Security. He cracked down on the visitor policy. No one was allowed to see Lucas without Security present, and even then, a Smasher would need a legitimate excuse for visiting him. I don't think anyone's been this badly injured since Subspace.

Flint's condition took a turn for the worse. We had to move him to another hospital with a human specialist because he turned comatose. Apparently, Strong's kick hit some sensitive nerves. This one rattled me pretty badly, because I know if I'd acted sooner, I could've saved him too.

It's been a total shitstorm.

Hearing about the Tazmily forest fire, Bayonetta paid to cover temp housing arrangements for the Tazmily Villagers by buying new apartments nearby. I didn't have the time to thank her, because she took matters into her own hands and took a Leave of Absence to investigate something herself. The only person she told was her personal manager, who (shakily) told me that the destination had been sworn to secrecy. Master Hand doubled down on that by offering bodyguard protection on the Tazmily Villagers, 24/7, and promising to make up for their lost wages. At the very least, it made Master Hand look good to the public.

Anyways, the embargo on Lucas's hospital room was supposed to happen... until Lucas's grandfather refused to part from his grandson. When Security refused to let him in, he stood outside the Mansion for 12 hours, no matter how many times Chrom tried to turn him away.

When Master Hand heard, he sent an urgent appeal for the rule, and it quickly passed. Alec would stay in the Mansion until Lucas got better.

Ever since we moved Lucas to the Hospital Ward, I don't think Lucas's grandfather has moved from his bedside. On the fourth day, I catch him sadly thumbing over the base of Lucas's amiibo, and realize that he's already suffered before. He's already lost his daughter and a grandson to Porky, and that's not even mentioning what happened to Flint.

Alec almost lost his last grandson.

I can't forgive Porky.

The media couldn't even respect Alec's loss. Not long after, an "Anonymous" account leaked photos of me and Lucas online. Most people brushed it off as platonic, but gossip magazines ate them up like wildfire. My personal manager and Duster hurried to protect our rep, but starved for attention, news reporters eagerly tossed out conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory into the Internet. Not even a day later, Paula was receiving death threats and slurs of being a homewrecking hoe. I was painted as a two-timing womanizer. Worse still, the spotlight blasted onto Lucas increased media speculation on how he entered the tournament as a protagonist of a missing game. They questioned Lucas's competence, and wondered if Lucas was kept in the roster solely because of our "affair." Fucking dicks.

With Porky on our minds, Paula's still here to talk plans with Jeff until the end of the week. Tonight I asked her over to help me save Lucas's pot plant, despite both of us sucking at gardening, because it's wilted despite my attempts to water it and give it plenty of sunshine. It's like it knows Lucas is gone somehow. Great. Now even the fucking flower's depressed.

"Did you mean it?" Paula asks when we stand in my balcony together.

"Mean what?"

"About killing him."

"...I don't know. I want to hurt him badly. I really do. I don't want to kill anyone, but you can't deny- Porky's done some awful things. Like his nasty pedo-ring, don't get me started on that-" I try, rubbing my eyes. I don't know when I last got some decent sleep. "But if it comes to the killing blow... I'm not sure. I'm not the type of person to play God and make the decisions to end other people's lives. That's not me. That's him."

"It's not just about the pedophilia. People with mental illnesses have the right to seek treatment from them. But what makes Porky dangerous is that he's acting on his desires and hurting innocent people," Paula says bitterly. "It's all about powerplay. Control. It's about using power to abuse people who can't defend themselves. What he's doing isn't just despicable... it's inhumane. I've seen kids in my parent's daycare who've been victims of sexual abuse, Ness. It's awful. The perpetrators might be locked up, but the trauma's already been inflicted. It'll follow the children for the rest of their lives. Knowing all this, if anyone deserves the death sentence, it's him."

"Jeff thinks so too. He thinks that Porky's too dangerous alive-"

"-and Poo would disagree, because killing goes against his morals." Paula sighs. "I guess there's no point in arguing. Porky's immortal. We can't end his life even if we tried."

"I just don't want him to hurt anyone anymore."

Paula purses her lips. "...You tried touching his heart."

"I tried. You're right. I can't save him. Do you think if I talked to him earlier...?"

"If. Maybe. If." Paula shakes her head. "You can't help someone who refuses help. Porky's already been given a second chance, Ness- well, three, if you count this one. He had the chance to turn back when we defeated Giygas. He had a chance at redemption when he entered Lucas's timeline. He had a third chance to fix all the screw-ups he's done in this world, but he chose to blow it."

Lucas's Gerbera shivers. I can't tell if its leaves are supposed to look that gray. My mom always jokes that I kill every plant I touch, because I know next to nothing about flowers. That's always been Lucas's thing. Flora and fauna.

Then I have to swallow down the achy feeling in my throat, because I am not about to sob in front of Paula again.

So I take the initiative to talk. "...How are you? Is everything okay with your parents?"

"I'm still trying to convince them to let me attend college here. I guess that depends on whether or not I get the scholarship though. My dad still doesn't like you."

"Classic Mister Polestar." I pretend to be busy with Lucas's pot plant. "I heard you were going through some tough times."

Paula frowns. "I'm okay."

"Are you really?"

"It's you I'm more worried about."

"You don't sound okay-"

"I said I'm okay!" I'm taken aback when Paula tenses up. She hesitates. "...I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's okay if you don't wanna tell me-"

"Well, it's not exactly- this was- I-" Taking a deep breath, Paula pats more mulch around Lucas's flower. Her hands relax, and curl around the flowerpot. "Ness... I don't think I've been fair to either of you. To Lucas, especially."

"In what way?"

"I haven't exactly been honest with you. About-" Paula chokes. "About my feelings for you."

My heart sinks. Her reaction was worse than I expected. "...Oh."

Paula places her hands in her lap, one over the other. "I don't blame you. The only reason I'm telling you at all, is because I've had a hunch you've known. Since Winter Formal."

I feel like shit. "I'm sorry, I-"

"I know. I never planned on telling you. It would've been disrespectful and frankly, rude to Lucas." Paula gives into an unsteady smile. "...You have nothing to worry about. I can tell Lucas loves you back very much. To be honest, it's not hard for anyone to fall for you."

"Paula-"

"Please, Ness," Paula presses her finger against my mouth. "Let me finish this. Do you... remember what happened right after our journey after Giygas? At the end of that year?"

"Uh... something life-threatening?" I guess. "No wait- this dude tried to kill us with his car-"

"You asked me out on New Years Eve."

Hurt, I cross my arms. "But you never said anything. I thought you didn't hear me. I thought you weren't interested."

"And I thought you were joking. I thought you were pulling a prank, and didn't want to get my hopes up. So I waited to ask you out, because I loved you too much and was afraid of getting hurt." I close my mouth, completely lost, and Paula hugs her knees. She looks so small. "I don't blame you. We were still kids. It was a much simpler time. We thought we'd be together. We kept visiting each other so often that your mom even joked around about us getting into a relationship with each other. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I'd said yes. Or if I'd asked you out earlier, before you got over me. Or if I'd just told you. But... the timing was never right, was it? That's how life is." Paula hurriedly wipes her eyes with her hands and stands up. "I'm really sorry, Ness. I promise... I'll help you. You're still one of my dearest friends. I'll do whatever I can to catch Porky. I'll teach you PK Starstorm for Ultimate next year. It took me a lot of courage to come to Winter Formal with you, but until I get over you, I don't think I can keep visiting you like this. I'm sorry."

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

.

.

.

With none of the Twelve here to step up, Master Hand makes me Temporary Second-in-Command.

As a part of the Twelve, I knew this was in the contract, but I never saw it coming. How could I? I had eleven other Smashers in line. If Mario fell, we had Link or Samus to fill in as Acting Hand. Fox. Captain Falcon. Even Jigglypuff - if you managed to pry her away from Twitter long enough to do her goddamn work - would've been better. The odds that they'd all be wiped out in one go, World of Light style was unthinkable.

"I see you've already met Kumatora," Master Hand says, glancing up from his desk. "She was to teach Lucas PK Starstorm for next year... but it seems like Lucas won't be waking any time soon. If any good came of it... I strongly suspect that his defeat was the last straw that pushed the new "Hands Off Act" into action. A relief, that you need no longer to worry about Patrol Duty. Take a seat, Ness. As we are in a state of emergency, I will go over your new responsibilities for the post-"

"Before we do that, can we talk about the investigation first?"

Master Hand heaves a weary sigh. "Of course. What would you like to know?"

I clench my fists. "After everything Porky's done... How could you let Porky do this to him?"

"This is the City of Second Chances. The laws of this universe bind me. One, I am forbidden to directly intervene in a Hero's Quest. Two, I am forbidden to abuse my power to rig the justice system of this world. Meaning, Porky has never been officially found "Guilty" in this world, so for me to shun him entirely is to risk a lawsuit for discrimination," Master Hand says quietly. "I cannot Thanos Snap all evil away. I may be powerful, but I am neither omnipresent nor omniscient, and I do my best to protect you, Ness."

I snort. "You tried to fire Lucas last year."

"Incorrect. I strongly suggested him to forfeit the Winter Tournament and take paid time off. But my reasoning behind the suggestion was flawed, and I was wrong to enforce my beliefs on you," Master Hand says. "Alas, I am not a perfect being, but I learn from my previous mistakes. When you have the power I have - forgive me for my arrogance - it is very often easy to make dangerous judgements. Thankfully, Crazy balances me out. I am Law, and he is Chaos. We check each other."

"Porky's still a sponsor," I accuse him. "Samus and I sent in a complaint months ago right after the Christmas Party-"

"Yes, and I took appropriate action. I do not take accusations of harassment lightly, and on these terms, Porky would no longer be welcome as a sponsor... But Lucas refused to submit a complaint himself. This complicates matters, as without formal consent from Lucas, I am not allowed to revoke Porky's Sponsorship. However, I did jump through some loopholes to reduce Porky's privileges and prevent him from approaching either of you directly during future events in the Mansion." Master Hand flips through his papers. "Moreover, Lucas sent in a request last week for bodyguards to protect Tazmily Village. I remember approving that request, but it seems like it is still pending in our sister company... I need to see why that request was never received. What were your thoughts on the evacuation?"

My thoughts? Uh. I can't say I was paying attention. All I remember was a lotta screaming that hurt my ears. And Marth skewering bots with a poker stick.

But I manage to make a response. "I know everyone listened to the evacuation drill before attending the ball, but I think having too many Safe Rooms confused things. Also more secure Safe Rooms would be nice, like maybe instead of yelling out Twelve different passwords."

"I think the same. Instead of multiple Safe Rooms, I'll make a proposal for One Safe Room, with 12 entrances, to be approved by the Roster. In addition, I'll look into limiting the number of people who can awaken you from petrification. I was afraid of a case like Subspace, where we might potentially need help outside the Roster, but even with tracking devices on the Trophies, it seems like this will still be an exploit for the more cunning villains-"

I hurriedly sit up. "You'll be able to get the Twelve back, right?"

"Yes. Once ROB finishes reconfiguring the Control Room." Master Hand shakes his head. "When this mess is over, I want to allow you Smashers other ways to find fallen Trophies. Moreover, I want to limit the ability of "Awakening the Petrified" exclusively to Smashers and Assist Trophies only, but that's a concern for another time. Our primary concern right now is catching the villain behind this nefarious scheme."

"But Master Hand, I know what I saw. No matter what Captain Strong said, I call bullshit. They didn't just shoot Lucas once, they shot him sixteen times- and I don't have proof, but I know those bots were made by Porky. You believe me... Right?"

"Innocent until proven guilty, Ness... but I have my suspicions. I've also discovered some cameras as I was renovating the Mansion, and swept the place clean of spyware. And after speaking with Rope Snake, I have a feeling he has a very strong visceral reaction to these... Porky Bots. I believe something about their copper alloy makes him nauseous. I've sent some remains to the forensics lab, and await interesting results. As you are a key witness, I dare say you will be very involved in the investigation this month. Either way, nothing is certain, and may justice be delivered on the perpetrator who grievously harmed our friend," Master Hand opens his palm. "But until then, you have some new duties to oversee as my temporary Right Hand Man. As per contract, I'll pay you overtime before the maximum 3 weeks are over. By then, if Mario hasn't returned, my backup plan with Luigi should lock into place. In the meantime, I'll lend you a replacement yo-yo for your battles-"

I've taken Mario's authority for granted.

I can't act like a kid anymore.

Luckily, Zelda helps out.

Really, that's an understatement. She spearheads law and order back into the Mansion. It doesn't take much for everyone to know I'm only a figurehead for public appearances, and an obscure one at that. I don't know why Master Hand didn't put Zelda in charge as "Acting Hand." She kept Calamity Ganon in check for a hundred years while Link regenerated from his battle wounds. She's more than capable of being a leader.

In twenty-four hours, I become the least popular smasher in the Mansion.

No one says it out loud, but resentment slowly bleeds into my empathy links. I don't have to be Lucas to read their minds. I've been on a losing streak for months. Everyone thinks I'm too young. Everyone thinks I'm unqualified. Everyone thinks I rode on the coattails of my status as one of the Twelve to rise to fame, and that I'm to blame for the Mansion's attack. It's like their eyes say it: "Good going, Ness. Thanks for inviting a psychopathic pedophile to crash ANOTHER party." When I try to uphold the house rules, Wario snickers behind my back, and Bowser pretends to be me and makes retarded noises. I'm the topic of mockery, and that's saying a lot, since I already get a lot of stupid hate for PK Fire.

No one takes me seriously in the one time I need them to.

It's rough. Even during my adventure in Earthbound, I at least had friends and family to support me. Now, Poo's AWOL, Paula's avoiding me, Jeff's busy. The Twelve aren't here. Toon's taken a break to see his grandmother, the Ice Climber twins are busy with their own gig, and I find myself making more excuses not to talk with my mom, afraid that she'll see through my lies. Zelda even takes me aside one day and mentions her concerns that I'm suffering from Survivor Guilt, but if I could save Lucas last time - why couldn't I do it again? Any of the Twelve could've done it. I could've saved them all too, if I really tried. I've let them all down.

"I heard about what you said to the Tazmily Villagers," Duster says when he catches me on my way to another brawl.

"About how I pissed off loads of people?"

"Ah well... The Villagers aren't happy, but it was a hard truth that a few of them needed to be told," Duster suggests, looking sheepish. Oh yeah, he's definitely being polite. "You could've phrased what you said in less profane terms, but you helped Kumatora. You saved the Tazmily villagers. And you saved Lucas."

But he's wrong.

Lucas isn't here.

It's just the end of the first week, but when I return to the empty apartment alone, I break down. It hurts. I miss Lucas. I miss him so badly. I wish none of this shit happened, because he didn't deserve the pain and suffering Porky forced him through.

But Lucas shouldered ridicule on his own for weeks without cracking. He did what was right, even when Strong interrogated him and pumped him full of lead. This is nothing compared to the torture he had to go through. If Lucas could lay down his life for Tazmily, I can do this too. I take a deep breath.

I'll be okay.

Most Smashers don't really give a shit about being petrified, since we're usually up after a quick tap, but the overkill nature of Lucas's defeat's left the Mansion in a state of shock. Passing by the Arcade Room on the 4th floor, I even catch the villains putting in their two cents about Porky's uprising.

Uneasily blowing out smoke from his nostrils, Boswer lowers his voice. "What do you think about Porky Minch?"

"Wa! More frightened clients worrying over their money? My business couldn't be booming more," Wario says, greedily counting his cards at the poker table. "Royal flush. Hand it over, ya sissies."

With a grumble, the villains hand over their cash.

"Honestly? Don't ask, don't care," Wolf says carelessly, dealing out cards to start another round. "Dedede, thoughts?"

"Thoughts on what? On that unimportant boy's defeat? Why do you ask me? All I do is horde food and steal from the poor," Dedede blubbers.

"Of course you do. You're a third-rate criminal," MetaKnight drones. "An embarrassment to criminal kind. Pass."

"Why I never- I will peck your eyes out for your impudence, you tarts for brains-"

"I came close to attempted genocide, but sixteen shots? That's evil," Ganondorf grudgingly respects.

Boswer snorts. "Going soft for the boy? Don't be a wuss."

"No matter how many times I've tormented my Hero with trickery and laid a country to waste, I still keep my honor. A clean shot would do. I would not drag out the death of a mere child." Ganondorf breaks into a low chuckle and examines his nails with a sneer. "Distasteful... And you call me a wuss. Do you prefer to play with your food? Or would you deny revenge unto anyone who tortures your son to a slow demise-"

Interrupting him with a rumble, Bowser slams his beer onto the table. Ganon's hit a sore spot. "All this yammering's making my stomach sick- I've lost my appetite. You in for another round or what, sucker?"

"Why not? Got nothing better to do." Ganon tosses his chips onto the table.

Unlike Onett standards, Smash City immediately opened up the legal case. If it helped, Porky obviously didn't account for me being a witness, because I brought up Porky's involvement in the Mansion's attack and presented Porky's texts as evidence for harassment. Although witness testimony wasn't usually reliable, Smash Police did file in the texts in their archive.

Captain Strong and his Onett platoon were pretty much busted. Even though their bodycams had been "mysteriously" turned off during the event, the discarded bullets they used to shoot Lucas matched the bullet markings on their pistols. The Police also found empty canisters in their trunks with traces of a drug with similar properties to Laughing Gas. As further proof, the detectives presented forensic evidence of Lucas's blood on their discarded uniforms and steering wheels.

When asked, they claimed self-defense. They said they feared for their lives. They insisted they were in Tazmily from a drug hideout tipoff, and that Porky Minch had been there. Strong was quick to blab off about Porky's underage prostitution ring, that Porky was pimping out children off the streets, and that he was just "following orders."

Porky shut him down. "Somehow", quote-on-quote, Smash Police got their hands on Strong's laptop for evidence. They found child porn on it - dozens of lewd pictures of underage girls. As horrible as it was, I had to thank Strong's stupidity when police discovered he'd filmed a video of Lucas's assault on his phone. The Smash police asked me if I wanted to comment on it.

I didn't watch it.

The worst part was that I wasn't surprised. This case made me pretty fucking ashamed to be from Onett.

On the other hand, Porky had basically weaseled himself out of the crime. Porky's lawyers claimed we were trying to tarnish Porky's name. They accused the Smash Police of discrimination for Porky's ex-villain status, and when confronted, Porky denied involvement in either crime. Porky cleaned up his tracks well, because what we found left of the "Porky Bots" was useless to the case; turns out, all the Porky Bots were partially made of Ditto cells, letting each Porky Bot shapeshift into whatever DNA samples they were exposed to. "Coincidentally", the DNA samples we found - hair cells, skin cells, fingerprints - were identical matches to those of the passengers who were victims in the SkyTrain attack. Though Porky's Mansion and Toy Factory were inspected for foul play, with so many random DNA samples of innocent people, we couldn't even claim the Porky Bots as evidence.

Smash Police found minute traces of a "[REDACTED]" drug in Tazmily Village, but couldn't corroborate Strong's accounts about a drug heist. They investigated Porky's Toy Factory a second time with a search warrant, but like previous times, walked out empty-handed. Despite several claims about Porky Bots from multiple witnesses, there were none to be found intact anywhere, and in the Mansion's Control Room, all video feed had been smashed beyond repair.

Porky's lawyers pressed that the forest fire had been caused by a stray cigarette.

Smash Police were investigating the case and keeping Strong in custody for another 6 months before making a final verdict, but from the sounds of it, Porky's lawyers had set up a convincing front. After all, Porky had set up several charities and philanthropic funds for children in the city. Do you expect us to believe that this fine man would pimp out children? his chaffeur had blustered in my face.

Porky had effectively thrown Strong under the bus, and gotten away with his crimes.

I really can't believe that Porky's getting off scott-free.

"P-P-Poor, poor Lucas," Rope Snake whimpers, curling around Lucas's flower pot. The Tazmily Gerbera's long since shrivelled up into a husk, but I don't have the heart to throw it out.

With my new schedule filling in as "Acting Hand," I rarely have time for myself. The Mansion's officially under a State of Emergency. There's always something that has to be done after something else. I'm often eating on my way to the next meeting or brawl, and napping during odd hours because I can't fall sleep at night. How on earth did Mario manage half of this?

So when I finally make my first daytime visit to the Hospital Ward, thanks to a cancelled meeting, I bump into the regular guest there.

Lucas's grandfather.

Noticing me arrive, he sets down his tea mug. The painted pottery's got black-inked birds flying around its smooth surface. On the table are some tools I recognize easily thanks to Marth and his chronic tea addiction: traditional Japanese utensils for preparing tea.

I start. "How are you healing up?"

Alec pats his bandaged chest. "Much better. Porky hurt me, but I am healing."

"That's good to hear." I shuffle in place. "Sorry, I yelled at you... and uh, the other villagers. I can come back another time-"

"Have some koicha."

That's how I end up at Lucas's bedside, sipping green tea with his grandfather. It's kinda nice, in a way. I never grew up knowing my grandparents. Both my mother's parents disowned her when she got pregnant with me, and my dad's side of the family blocked all contact after he divorced my mom.

I take another tentative sip. I know Lucas loves the whole bitter tea taste, but privately I think it could be improved with a sugar cube. Still, I don't wanna look rude, so I glug the whole mug down as quickly as I can, my eyes watering from the heat. Maybe if I drink it fast enough, I won't be able to taste it.

Dammit, it still tastes like grass water.

Unfortunately, this tactic backfires.

"Slow down," Alec chides, pouring me more tea. "There's always more."

"Thanks for the tea, but I'm... really full," I say quickly. "Lucas would love this stuff though."

"Ha, not when he was young. When he was a kid, he disliked tea. He has inherited the sweet tooth from his mother. But now he loves his tea plain, the same way the Japanese drink their matcha." A pause. "My grandson was very brave that night."

"He was," I agree. "You seem to know a lot about him."

Alec rights his crooked glasses, clouded over from steam. "...no. He's changed. He's a very different person."

That gets me curious. "How?"

"Younger, he looked up to his twin brother. Ryuka was a shy crybaby, but affectionate and easy to open up. Now he's grown strong, but so quiet and withdrawn." His grandfather presses a palm against Lucas's golden amiibo. It faintly glows red in his hand. "I was worried he was lonely, but I see I am wrong. I'm happy to hear that my grandson has friends. Nessu, was it? You saved my grandson's life. I'm in your debt."

"Not really, I didn't get to him in time-"

"You saved him," he says firmly, setting down his ceremonial tea cup. "Your parents must be proud of you. I heard you have a little sister who looks up to you, Nessu. She must be exactly like you."

"Tracy? She's smarter than me, but we look nothing alike. It's pretty funny actually. We don't even look like siblings. She has blond hair like Lucas."

"Ryuka said you were popular. You must have a girlfriend too."

Uncertain, I rub the back of my neck. "Not really, it's kinda early to be thinking about that kind of stuff-"

"Are you dating my grandson?"

Straight to the point.

As I sweat in my seat, Alec only pours himself another cup of tea. "A while ago, my grandson said he was dating someone with black hair and purple eyes. I thought he was joking, but when you showed up, I wondered. Purple eyes are not common. For humans. I thought you had a sister with purple eyes, but-" Lucas's grandfather meets my eyes. "You said it is not her."

"..."

"I hope it is you. I've been told that white boys these days are often rude and fat-"

I choke into my tea. "Uh, thank you...?"

"-but you don't seem the sort. No wonder my grandson loves you." With a shit-eating grin reminiscent of Lucas's, his grandfather reaches over for a plastic bag. "By the way, the tea here tastes terrible. Are you sure you don't want a sugar cube?"

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

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.

.

The second time I visit Lucas, Lucas's grandfather is gone.

Instead, I run into another unexpected visitor.

His vines wrapped protectively around Lucas's amiibo, Ivysaur murmurs happily at my approach. Off to the side, Red sits in my chair, his half-full tea cup resting on the table. To my surprise, Chrom's quietly gifted Alec some actual quality tea - probably because he felt guilty about turning him away for 12 hours. Wow. Somewhere deep down his jerk soul, Chrom actually has a heart. Who knew?

To my disappointment, this means Alec doesn't have any more sugar cubes on the table. I guess I'll have to get used to drinking grass water.

Red nods when he spots me, before glancing back at his Pokemon. He looks like he hasn't been sleeping too well either. When I look around for Alec, kinda getting worried when he doesn't show up, Red speaks.

"He's gone for a smoke."

I glance around. "I see. Thanks."

When I awkwardly take Alec's chair, and watch Ivysaur hopefully prod the base of Lucas's amiibo (his leaves wilt), Red speaks again. "...I miss him."

Turning my head over to this time see a snorting Charizard nudging Lucas with his snout, I let out a sigh. "Yeah, I miss him too. It's already March. He's been out for a couple weeks." I press my hands against my suddenly throbbing temples. "He was tortured. Sixteen shots. It's so fucked up. Porky's probably going to get away with it too."

Red doesn't say anything, but he clenches the muscles in his jaw. I notice that despite keeping the same posture, his free hand's curled into a fist.

"Me too, buddy. Not if I can help it."

Another moment of silence.

"He looks up to you."

I lift my head. "Who? Lucas?"

"...Since Subspace." Like he's reluctantly chewing the words from his mouth, Red watches the clouds float past the window.

"Lucas fights better. You should see how he uses his magic, especially his telekinesis. It's pretty fucking terrifying. Makes me kinda glad he's nerfed." I glance at him. "...Yknow, we never got around to having that battle. You free tomorrow?"

Staring directly at me, Red tilts his cap in challenge.

Our battle draws considerable attention. I pass several Smashers and Assist Trophies heading for the seats on my way to the elevators, and when I arrive at the basement of the stadium, Red's already there. Squashing down my nerves, I try to ignore the jitters by warming up. I'm banking on people showing, since our fight's taking place in a lotta free blocks. I've spotted some Smashers flocking over out of sheer curiosity and really, nothing better to do; others can't wait to see Red pummel my face into the ground.

That's because for the first time in the history of the tourney, Master Hand's allowed us an un-nerfed fight.

Well, mostly un-nerfed.

Otherwise, the rules are the same. Pain is dulled, if any. Injuries are impossible inside the arena, but since we're unnerfed, enough physical trauma could probably break a bone. Sensations for special attacks like fire and ice are dulled, so that they only sap our stamina and don't give us nasty shit like frostbite. Nothing fatal. And in the unlikely case anyone is petrified, we'd be up in seconds. Probably.

It's taken a lot of convincing, but Master Hand relented the day I signed my contract to fill in as "Acting Hand". One unnerfed battle. You can say I'm abusing my mod privileges, but I need this, and something tells me that Red needs it too. If I'm gonna answer to a real challenge, I'm giving it the best I've got. And if there's something a bunch of knuckleheads know best, it's a good fight.

If I want to earn the respect of the Mansion back, I need to prove it.

Aside from one challenge, Red's been undefeated.

I have to win this.

As we step into the stadium, Wario cups his hands around his mouth and jeers, "Hah! GAYYY," but the smashers shush him up, eager to see some bloody action.

I'm fucking analyzing every single move Red makes as he slowly slides his hand over his Pokeballs. To his own disadvantage, for some reason, Red was firm on a traditional one-on-one. A singles tourney. Because the PC system's down, Red's only got the 3 Pokemon he's brought into this world, meaning that I'll be fighting Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. This sucks because I was pumped up and ready to take on a full 6 Pokemon team, along with his iconic Pikachu, but Red can still withdraw and send out any Pokemon at anytime, at his discretion. I've asked if he wanted to postpone the match for a full team, but he only raised one finger in reply. The meaning behind that gesture was obvious.

I only need one Pokemon to take you down.

Arrogant fucker.

I've beaten Red many times before in normal matches, but this isn't a normal match. I've never fought Red unnerfed. Even with only half a standard Pokemon Team, on a scale of 0 to 100, Red's a legend. His Pokemon probably have maxed out stats from EV training on Mt Silver, and aren't limited to 4 moves in this world. Maybe 5 or 6.

As we face each other on opposite ends of Final Destination, I quickly review my options. I have PK Rockin, Fire, Thunder, Flash, Teleport, Hypnosis, Paralysis, Magnet, Shield, and LifeUp. Sounds like a lot, but in a battle like this, Hypnosis, Flash, and Paralysis have pisspoor accuracy, Magnet can't absorb Squirtle's water or Ivysaur's bulletseed, Teleport is considered an automatic forfeit, and Shield is useless against special attacks. Unless I get up close and personal, which Red knows, Shield sucks ass.

That only leaves me with four viable moves: PK Rockin, PK Fire, PK Thunder, and LifeUp.

Not a bad movepool. At least status conditions won't affect me.

I have a suspicion Red's leaving his best for last, so I've gone in expecting Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, in that order.

"Ready? Three... Two... One... Go!"

Then Red fucking hurls his pokeball and releases Ivysaur.

With a swear, I switch tactics. "PK Fi-"

"Lightscreen."

My PK Fire bounces off the invisible barrier, and Ivysaur takes the hit. Red studies the damage. Tanking the blow, Ivysaur puffs up his leaves, and my stomach drops. That barrier's countered at least half my fucking damage from magic. Well, there goes three-quarters of my movepool.

Gritting my teeth, I charge in with a shield, but with a flick of his hand, Red switches out for Squirtle, slamming me with a Rapid Spin in the face before blowing me away with Hydropump.

At this point, he's taunting me.

I stagger to my feet to heal myself, but as if expecting the opening, Squirtle's back in my face with Rapid Spin, forcing me to counter his spinning shell with my Shield. He's too fucking fast. Fighting Squirtle's like trying to fight a child with ADHD, except the child's hyped up on steroids and cocaine. I need to slow him down.

Every time I try to heal, Squirtle approaches. Every time I get too close, Squirtle blasts me away with Hydropump. Every time I use any of my special moves, Squirtle dodges underground with Dig.

Red's slowly trying to chip my stamina down.

Time's not on my side.

Okay, improv time. Fuck it, I'm throwing out all conventional rules out the window. Forget about what element's weak against what - I need to land a fucking hit. So when I'm blasted away by another Hydropump, I muster my magic, pressing a glowing hand against my chest. Thinking I'm about to heal, Squirtle charges in with Rapid Spin-

And I reveal my ace, yo-yoing the fucker and reeling him in.

Squirtle lets out a surprised squeal and tries to rapid spin away, but not before I bitchslap him with Paralysis. I clear the floor with him after that, knocking him out with my bat.

As I heal myself with LifeUp, Red returns Squirtle, and cocks an eyebrow at me.

I flip him the bird. One Pokemon, you thought.

His mouth tightens, and he sends out Ivysaur.

Ivysaur's always struck me as a long-range fighter, so he surprises me by immediately going physical, ramming into my side with the force of a baby rhino. When I'm busy reeling from the blow and healing up my bruised rib, Ivysaur fans out his leaves, spreading them wide to the sky. The flower on his back blooms and sparkles.

We're indoors. But suddenly, I'm aware of how tired I am, and how fucking hot the sun is. I can feel its rays searing my back well-done.

Sunny Day.

Without a moment to waste, Ivysaur charges, flinging his leaves into the air. I know, it sounds harmless, but those leaves aren't like the normal leaves from your mom's back garden. They can slice through solid rock, and sting more than a paper cut. I duck and roll as his razor leaves whistle past my face like shruikans, scattering around the arena. I don't know what that first move was for (...the advantage of surprise? Maybe?), but Ivysaur's careful not to charge me too many times. It's obvious that Red's wary of another paralysis trick, and despite Light Screen, he's definitely trying to avoid a direct hit from PK Fire.

After being peppered by another barrage of bullet seed, I stand back up, but shit, my legs keep wobbling like jello. The fatigue only grows worse, like someone's sucking all the life out of me like an empty juice packet. When my head continues to pound like DK's smashed me against a concrete wall, I stop to heal myself again. Shit, what's going on? No matter how many times I've battered Ivysaur with my bat, he doesn't even seem he least bit tired.

The awful draining sensation returns, forcing me to my knees.

A few months back, Lucas mentioned something about Red's Pokemon. About how Red was training one of them to learn a new move. A move that could drain the victim's health, and heal its user.

The answer becomes clear when something tickles the back of my ear. I fumble for it, tugging and snapping a part of it off. What the fuck is this weed doing on my head...?!

Leech Seed.

No wonder why Ivysaur rammed into me. He's sprinkled Leech Seeds all over my head.

Son of a-

During my adventure, I've had a bad experience with plants. I've bumped into annoying walking sprouts that stalked me wherever I went, trying to kick me in the shins with their stupid seedy feet. I've had trees chase me down and explode on me like time bombs. I've had literal mushrooms sprout from spores on my head, but I've always had to see a doctor to remove them. Now I've got all these stupid mutant seeds sprouting all over my body, feeding on my energy, dealing constant damage, and I don't have time to figure out how to deal with them.

"Finish him."

Ivysaur rumbles, shooting vines out after me. I try to dodge, but the arena's been coated in layers of glossy leaves, so I slip and fall like an idiot. Then the vines are instantly onto me, wrapping and squeezing me into a tight cocoon, and as I struggle not to black-out, I catch something glowing on Ivysaur's bulb, bulging like a mutant alien baby about to explode.

SolarBeam.

At the last second, Ivysaur's gonna toss me into its path. And judging from Red's tone, in my exhausted state, that move's probably a one-hit KO. I struggle to summon a spell, but the vines wrap me up in too many layers, smothering the magic in my hands.

If that beam hits me, I'm dead.

Then Ivysaur hurls my ass into the air.

I'm scrunching my eyes shut as Ivysaur hops suit, aiming his bulb up in a perfect 45 degree angle-

"PK-"

"SAU-"

"-THUNDER!" I scream.

To everyone's disbelief, my PK Thunder connects, shooting me across the stage. A second later, Ivysaur's SolarBeam blasts a holy beam of light that misses me by a hair. Colliding into the ground face-first, I roll over, slipping and sliding over Ivysaur's scattered leaves before pushing myself up from my last-minute recovery.

With a sharp word from Red, Ivysaur gets over its surprise, looping its vines towards me to repeat the same trick. He shows no sign of stopping. It looks like my paralysis failed.

But this time, I'm ready. When Ivysaur loops his vines around my arms again, I take the initiative, holding my ground and grabbing on as tightly as I can.

"...Saur?"

I grit my teeth against the black spots in my vision. "Photosynthesize this!" My hands erupt into flames. Like an electric rod, the PK Fire spreads across his vines like wildfire under the blistering sun. The gamble pays off. Ivysaur frantically tries to shake the flames off of its body, but when another PK Fire pins him down, I nab him with a solid strike from my bat. Finally, a direct hit.

Red silently returns Ivysaur, now releasing his final Pokemon.

And suddenly, his strategy with Sunny Day makes sense.

With a roar that shakes the stadium, Charizard takes to the air in a Dragon Dance that leaves his tail flame glinting purple. Chasing me down from above, he opens his maw wide, razing the ground with flames that burn twice as hot as I run. The aim's not accurate, and I easily absorb some of his fire with Magnet, but I realize Red's main purpose behind the attack when I turn around to see the ground burning like the world's biggest marshmallow pit.

Like a boobytrap, Ivysaur's leaves have caught fire.

Pulling up PK Magnet, I cough, my knees threatening to buckle under Ivysaur's leech seeds. If Red's trying to wear me down, it's working. I can't fight on the ground without stepping on any flames, Ivysaur's leech seeds keep sapping out my stamina with no end in sight, and I can't protect myself from the fire with PK Magnet forever. If I spam Magnet, I'll be an easy picking.

Charizard proves this by sweeping in with a Dragon Claw, forcing me to drop my PK Magnet for Shield.

I need to get rid of these leech seeds.

So I play another gamble, ignoring intuition and lowering PK Magnet. When Charizard lunges in with Flare Blitz, coated in an impenetrable armor of fire, I have no choice but to charge at him with my bat, screaming my head off like a madman-

-and then at the last second, I jump.

The collision knocks the fucking wind out of my gut. Gasping, I ignore the tingling, burning sensation of Flare Blitz and muster all my strength for an attack. I'm going all-out, because if I have to be grounded, then so will he.

PK Thunder.

Buffeting me with his wings, Charizard plummets into the ground like a stone. He bellows and stampedes around the stage in Outrage, trying to shake me off as I cling for dear life around his neck. By this point, I have to, if I don't want to be trampled into a pancake.

The good news: I've burned off my Leech Seeds.

The bad news: I've just pissed off a dragon ten times my size.

After jolting him with another PK Thunder, Charizard's had enough. He flings me off with a vicious Dragon Claw to the head. When I skid across the ground like a stone, dazed, I sit up, trying to shake off my lingering disorientation. It's as if Red saw this coming too, because Charizard's stampeding has replaced the flaming stage for something else, and I'm coughing on it.

Smoke.

I flunked out of Boy Scouts in sixth grade, but if there's one thing I learned, it's that burning up fresh leaves causes a lot of smoke.

My eyes water. I can't see shit. My muscles ache from exhaustion, so I instinctively reach for LifeUp, my hand glowing with magic-

Then Charizard's tail smacks me into the next universe.

What the hell...? I whip around my yo-yo, but he's gone.

I cough again, staggering backwards. Spotting Charizard's impossible in this smoke. You'd think his glowing tail'd be a dead giveaway, but he's faster than Squirtle, and his tail flame blends in with the embers under my feet. Worse, I can't use any magic without him noticing. When I twitch my fingers for another LifeUp to test out my theory, a dark blur flaps in, his claws swiping two arcs inches away from my face. At least this means he can't see me too - only where my attacks are coming from.

But Charizard's got an aerial view. I doubt he'll fall for the same trick twice. The odds aren't in my favor.

Bullshit. This battle's not over yet.

I flick the brim of my cap out of my face.

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

.

.

.

Lowering his mike, Red watches Charizard flap around the smoky battlefield. He's come so far. Losing again isn't an option.

Something glows in the smoke.

At barely a wordless twitch of his finger, Charizard lunges in with another Flare Blitz. Red knows that the hit's dead-on. It's a sure knock-out.

Suddenly in the gloom, a star winks. A flash of light, so bright that it hurts his eyes, pierces through the clouds, and Red squints at it like he's trying to stare directly at the sun. With a pained roar, Charizard stumbles back out of the smoke, desperately trying to shake his eyes free of PK Flash.

All too soon, Red realizes his mistake.

His eyes blazing with the flames around him, Ness emerges from the smoke, grinning widely like a possessed demon child. Magic dances and sparks around his fingers as he concentrates, summoning a holographic electric guitar in a flourish. The audience sits up straighter. The tension's palpable. No amount of Light Screen can protect Charizard now.

PK Rockin.

Ness shatters the tension with a dramatic strum, the grand finale of his magic blasting soundwaves that scream heavy metal and crack the very earth of the stage. The noise is so great that Red's forced to cover his ears as the glass dome shatters around the entire stadium. When the ringing fades from his ears, the noise dies down to the low pop and crackle of embers hopping over the stage.

Distant flapping.

Miraculously, Charizard manages to return to the stadium, wobbling on his haunches. Ness tenses, but sways unsteadily on his feet. His final attack has taken its toll. He can't dodge. Charizard's landing is sluggish and heavy, but as if sensing this, slowly, he opens his smoking maw as if to summon a Fire Blast...

...and collapses into a heap.

Disbelief.

Then the stadium goes wild.

Panting for breath, Ness catches Red's eye at the podium. Reflecting off molten flecks of light from flying embers, his eyes burn Gold.

A mutual understanding passes between them.

Red returns his last Pokemon. Throughout it all, the eyes of his former rival haunt him no more.

PKMN Trainer Red accepts defeat.

.

.

.

~oO0Oo~

.

.

.

Pretty shortly after the win, I collapse from exhaustion. The medics have to carry my half-conscious body out on a stretcher. It's hard to remember details because I'm kinda high on magic and have this dopeyass grin stuck on my face, but Smashers and Assist Trophies alike cheer me on and high-five me as they pass me lying in the lobby, so that was pretty awesome.

"Good game," I tell Red. If he'd brought a full team, I would've been toast.

Red nods.

Once I can sit up without feeling like the floor's moving, and Red's Pokemon are fully healed, Master Hand rushes in, snapping his fingers. The nerfs are back.

I stop petting a snoozing Ivysaur, and complain, "Aw man, not the nerfs-"

"Yes, the nerfs!" comes the booming response. Master Hand's not pleased that I broke thousands of dollars worth of glass.

On the other hand, his brother's thrilled. "i LoVe mYseLf sOmE aNiMaL aBUsE!" Crazy cackles, throwing his popcorn into the air. "wHy DoNt wE UnNeRF eVerYonE eVeRYdAY?"

"Absolutely not."

"...hOw AbOUT oNLy oN FriDayS?"

"Never!" Master Hand cries, distraught. "This will be the first, and only, un-nerfed battle. Ness, do you see what happened? Now everyone and their mothers want an unnerfed battle-"

"I'm sorry I broke the glass. At least no one got hurt," I add, trying to ham up the guilty puppy-dog face. It works. Master Hand grumbles under his breath about me being a bad influence and flies away.

Squirtle happily continues blowing different colored bubbles in my face, and claps when I poke them. With a snort, Charizard huffs, wrapping himself protectively around his trainer. Charizard's never liked me much, but at least he grudgingly seems to respect me now. He doesn't blast my face with fire anymore, so that's a start.

"You fight really well. I wanna battle you unnerfed with a full team next time," I grin, letting Squirtle jump out of my arms.

Red raises an eyebrow. "...!"

"Yeah, really. I don't think I've had that much fun in-"

I choke. A familiar empathy link stirs. As if I just drank Alec's cup of hot tea, feelings not mine flood in, and my heart sings, sending a sudden warmth rushing to my fingers. Without thinking, I'm bolting for the Hospital Ward like it's second nature, because really, maybe it is.

In the hospital room, his shoulders shaking and silently weeping in unspeakable joy, Alec clutches his grandson by the back of his head, wrapping him in a tight embrace.

He's here.

Lucas is back.

---

Author's Note:

HUZZAH I MADE IT IN TIME BEFORE 2020! 。゜゜( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ ゜゜。

Happy holidays! I had to cut some material from this chapter and shift it around for my future chapters, or else this chapter would've easily topped 20k. I know my chapters are long af, but I don't want them to be MONSTROUS. *Silently screams* (」°ロ°)」

If I'm on track, this fic should be done by Chapter 41, maybe ~2 more chapters if longer (and perhaps an epilogue for Chapter 42/44, but that all depends on if I feel like writing an epilogue is necessaryヽ(´ー` )┌). Then I should finish up my other fic afterwards haha whoops

Enjoy! :D

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Forestfire34720: Excellent puns are the best jokes ;) Kumatora is in canon a very tomboyish character: warmhearted, hotheaded, and impulsive (i.e. when her leg got caught in a bear trap in M3, the first solution she jumped to was to chop it off!). And AAA thank you for pointing that out! I definitely messed up the draft last chapter, so I fixed it up so it seemed like there was some time between the empathy link breaking and Lucas being petrified. This chapter should hopefully reinforce that too. Thanks! :D

Conna: Oh yeah, the Tazmily Villagers were never 100% united. I know this fic exaggerates how outspoken the villagers dislike Lucas (compared to ingame), and extrapolates by pulling racial tension into account, but we'll be diving back into Tazmily next chapter. :) I've always seen Lucas as a capable person, but it's sometimes overshadowed in this fic because (1) Ness is so impulsive and (2) because Lucas easily falls into the pitfall of getting over-cautious in this fic. I hope that this story ends up highlighting his growth as a character. :D It's def a stark constrast to see how differently this fic grew from Chapter 1 haha. Also ayy I took some inspiration from your Paula in To The Future ;)
dude, Captain Strong's basically a stereotypical bad cop, but without a fanatical love for donuts lol

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*The Electric Guitar is played on Treble Clef (music sheet).

*Different cultures like to prepare their tea in different ways. In Southeastern Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and some parts of China, tea (such as Oolong and Matcha) is often served by brewing leaves in water. In Pakistani culture, tea leaves are added to a pot with a specific water/milk ratio, before spices (if preferred) like cinnamon are added. In Turkish culture, tea (Black tea, most commonly) is sometimes paired with sugar. A good number of Americans and British inhabitants prefer to drink their tea with milk and sugar.

*In Japan, matcha tea (Green Tea) can be prepared either thick (koicha) or thin (usucha). Koicha is often considered higher quality for drinking.

*A "Lolita" refers to an underage girl who is considered "sexually alluring". The term originates from an old, controversial Russian novel (also titled "Lolita") by Vladimir Nabokov, where the reader steps inside the mind of the main protagonist: an aged man who takes on the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. An unreliable narrator, Humbert Humbert grooms his adopted 12 year-old step-daughter into a sexual relationship, and "lovingly" dubs her the nickname "Lolita".

*In Ancient Rome, slavery played a huge role in social standing. Considered a sign of wealth, the Roman Elite often owned over 15-20 slaves. Of the many types of slaves, a "puer delicatus" (translation: "Delicate/Sweet Boy") was a slave boy cherished by a master for his beauty. Often castrated to keep their youthful features, a "puer delicatus" was often sexually exploited. Stretching that into this fic, in Mother 3, Claus is speculated to be 9-10 years old when he goes missing (and discovered by Porky). Though the game doesn't detail what kind of abuse happened during his transformation to the Masked Man, Claus was explictly called a "slave" by Porky Minch, and was brainwashed to the extent he hurt Flint and Lucas until the end of the final battle.

*In Earthbound, Ness's movepool consists of PK/PSI Teleport, Paralysis, Hypnosis, PK Healing/LifeUp, and PK Rockin (his signature move). LifeUp heals a player's HP, while Healing heals status effects, but this chapter only mentions LifeUp for simplicity.

*In Mother 3, when Claus goes missing after trying to take revenge on the Drago that killed his mother Hinawa, the only thing his father Flint and his maternal grandfather find of him is his shoe.

*In Mother 3, Lucas and his party discover Ness's yo-yo in Porky's playroom. An equip called "Friend's yo-yo," Ness's yo-yo is protected by an optional android boss called Miss Marshmallow. If Lucas decides not to touch the yo-yo, Miss Marshmallow will leave the party alone. Additionally, I wanted give Porky a raven-like tendency to collect/steal tokens from his opponents in this fic.

*In both Earthbound and Mother3, Porky confronts the player in spider-looking mechs (The one shown in Brawl reflects the design from the mech in Mother 3).

*In any Pokemon game, All the moves used by Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard in this chapter can be learned in-game.

*In Pokemon, a PKMN Trainer can only hold 6 Pokemon maximum in their party.

*According to the Pokedex, Charizard is 1.7 m tall (Less than 5'7"), but I prefer to imagine him larger (and Ness sometimes has a tendency to exaggerate).