Chapter 27: He Needs You Too

…

(Ness)

…

(TW: Dark elements)

(Prologue - ?)

We collect as much water as we possibly can from the river, and in much higher spirits, we can continue on our journey. Thank goodness. Pusher takes the reins, and to our utmost surprise, the rest of the day passes, without any trouble at all.

But Tuesday dawns, and that's where things start to take another turn for the worse.

"We're lost!" Reggie grumbles. "I remember that bunch of flowers. We're traveling in circles."

"I'm hungry," Angie complains. "There has to be something to eat in this forest!"

"There are plenty of things to eat - but we're being so noisy that we're scaring them all off!"

"Relax," Pusher sighs, contented, "I know exactly what I'm doing."

"Leading us into disaster, that's what!" Reggie shouts.

I worry about Reggie. Every day, he's become more and more hot headed, more and more ready to start a fight, or to get angry.

"Porky is probably hot on our tail with more of his controlled guards," I try to explain. "So, we should keep moving."

Caroline mutters something that I don't hear. Caroline and Tessie resign themselves to the back of the group, nowadays. A lot more silent than before, the pair converse in whispers, which I note is creating discourse amongst us.

There's a crash in the trees - and I jump to attention. "We need to move - now-!"

Elmore turns angrily. "Pusher is in charge!"

"We can stand and fight!" Pusher decides.

"We can't stand and fight-" Reggie groans, but Pusher stands forwards - and out of the forest crash 3 armed riders, on horseback.

The central rider draws a spear, whilst the riders either side of him draw bows. "Where are you from?!"

"Tazmily!" Pusher declares.

"We are part of the Onett forces."

I seize a momentary opportunity. "Where did you acquire those weapons?"

"From the benefactor of Onett, Porky Minch!"

Grumbling breaks out amongst our group. Porky has been helping both locations out in this war, to increase the amount of people going into New Pork City.

"Tazmilians, you must be slain," the central rider dictates, and the archers ready their bows-

"Everyone, get down!" I cry out, and we duck - but Elmore grabs Sebastian, positioning him in front of her - and arrows fly- it all happens so fast-

One arrow pierces Elmore's handbag, and our water supply floods out of the hole.

The other arrow flies into the chest of Sebastian.

…

"Sebastian!" Ollie cries out, rushing over to him. I, meanwhile, try to direct the attention of the riders.

"Hey - riders! Please, we mean no harm. We are mere travellers from Tazmily - we are not involved in the war!"

The central rider narrows his eyes. "I know you."

"No you don't, I just have a recognisable face."

The archers steady their horses, and point their bows at me. I raise my hands. "Look! We have a lot of weaponary, hidden away. You can run, or, face our wrath!"

"The Onett forces never run."

"I'm giving you a chance…" I bite my lip.

The central rider's eyebrows narrow. "Denied."

The archers fire - two deadly arrows flying towards my chest - I duck, and one arrow embeds itself in a nearby tree. I grab it out hastily, adrenaline pumping, and I throw the arrow - impaling the rider in the heart.

He shouts. "Aah!"

The archers turn their horses and flee - whilst the other rider topples off their horse, to the floor, dead.

I gave him a chance.

I run over to Sebastian. "Is he alright?"

Sebastian coughs. "Pusher - Elmore - I need to tell you - something -"

"What is it?" Elmore snaps.

"I hated - working for you - so - much - you're rude bossy, insufferable people, and - and your son deserves - better."

Elmore's face turns purple. "You-"

...

Sebastian's eyes close.

...

(Ness)

My eyes open.

…

...

The first thing I notice is the ear-splitting pain. After however long of being in that coma, I suddenly realise just how much my head and my chest actually damn hurt. The next thing I notice is how bright everything suddenly seems - I almost have to close my eyes again to refocus… but hey! I'm awake!

Elated and bursting with sudden energy, I manage to sit myself up. The next thing to hit me is the sudden hunger - wow, actually, I'm really hungry…

"Ness!"

Alarmed, I look to the side. Toon Link stands there, excitedly, and I try to smile. "Hey-"

"Dammit - Ness, you're an idiot!"

I scowl. "Eurgh, I finally wake up, and that's the first thing you say?"

"No - no, agh, dammit, Ness! Everyone's been so worried about you… Lucas has been besides himself."

My stomach twists guiltily. "How long was I out?"

"2 days," Toon Link grimaces. "It's Tuesday afternoon."

"2 days?!" I freak, "I thought it was like, 2 hours - ngh, though it did feel like I was out for a long time - where is Lucas?! Is he okay?!"

Toon Link laughs faintly. "Yeah - yeah, Lucas is fine - agh, dammit, Ness, there were times we thought… we thought you wouldn't make it…"

The words hit me, and I breathe steadily. My voice takes a frightened edge. "Wouldn't make it?"

"Yeah - but, but Ryu, Rosalina, they helped - and, it's okay."

I resolve to ask Lucas what I've missed as soon as I've seen him- but I suddenly remember that I'm supposed to be avoiding him, to keep him safe! To think - if I hadn't initially distanced myself, it could've been him in this hospital bed… I shiver.

"Do you remember what happened to you?" Toon Link asks, tentatively.

I sit up further, but my head swims, threatening to pull me back under. "Yeah…"

Future Human. Grabbing me. Bashing my head. Blood.

Toon Link nods slightly. "Lucas is asleep, by the way."

I frown. "Asleep? But you said it was the afternoon?"

"Well," Toon Link grins shiftily. "He refused to sleep for the past two nights, so he could watch over you."

The guilt worsens. "He…?"

"Yeah."

I curse. "This is my fault."

"Hey, Ness, don't say that. But anyways, I'd go get Lucas right away, but there's something I need to talk to you about first."

I purse my lips, warily. "There is?"

"Yes. You got injured within 2 hours of distancing yourself from Lucas, and-"

I groan. "Please, not this again. Ryu already spoke to me, while I was unconscious."

"Ryu's a strange man," Toon Link concludes. "But, Ness, this is important. He's right. You need Lucas."

I'm not sure how to respond. "..."

"But one thing that I don't think you've ever understood Ness… Lucas needs you too."

He needs you too.

I laugh. "No, I just make his life more complicated."

"Ness, I'm serious."

"You're never serious."

"Well, now I am! Please, do not distance yourself from him. You need to watch each other's backs, okay? All this stuff is really scary and crazy, and unless you want to get yourself killed, then you can damn well be kind to yourself and stay with Lucas. Without you, he's upset, lonely. He needs you too, Ness."

I breathe out. I've been an idiot. A huge idiot. I need Lucas. Lucas needs me. That's how we operate. I rub my face nervously, breathing out. "You're right."

"You damn right I'm right. I can't remember a time that I was ever wrong!"

I grin shiftily. "It's good to be back."

Toon Link grins back at me. "I'll go and get the others, then." He leaves swiftly - and I sigh.

…

Toon Link really is right. Lucas needs me - and I need him too. It really is that simple, and it always has been that simple. I am the one person that Lucas can turn to, when everything overwhelms him, and he can collapse with me, and let it all loose. Lucas isn't vulnerable around many people - I am alone, with that honour. It's my responsibility to be there for Lucas. He deserves everything, and anything.

For the longest time, I've always wanted to be more like Lucas. But maybe, possibly, Lucas needs me to be me, like I need him to be him. We complement each other - so maybe, I'm actually supposed to be the way I am! It's a new concept to me - but one that makes me smile.

Lucas doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve. He neglects to share exactly what he's really feeling, unless he feels, extremely, extremely, secure enough to do so. After so many years of hurt, for me to be that person, his best friend, the one that Lucas is comfortable enough to speak to…

What an honour.

That's not to say I don't need him too. We're practically symbiotic - we fuel each other with our presence, we have a few hidden secrets, sure, but most of everything about ourselves, we can lay bare in front of the other. His secrets are precious to me - little packages of information about him that only I am permitted to know about - tiny pieces of knowledge that all come together to build my best friend. Who I've completely fallen in love with.

Dammit.

Who knows what he thinks, when it comes to romance, and sex, and all of that? That's just, well, never been something we speak about. I have no idea if he feels the same! But who cares about those things? I'm awake! I'm alright. And I'm ready to see my best friend.

I glance up.

There he is! In the doorway, a mess of blonde hair and excited smiles, and he's running towards me, and, and he's got me in his arms, and I've got him in his, and I missed him so much while stuck in that dark place-

"Ness!" Lucas shouts joyfully.

"Lucas!" I shout back, with a massive voice crack. My eyes stream - but I allow myself to indulge in the warmth of his hug, to feel his affection. I love his hugs and cuddles.

"Ness, Ness, you - you big idiot - I don't care if you wanna distance yourself from me, because I'm never gonna let you go, because you're my best friend and I need you too much - so, so there!"

I hold him tight. "I've been - I've been a massive goof."

"You bet you have."

I smile.

Lucas pulls away tearfully, examining me. "Ness - you made it - you - you're -"

"Hi, we're here as well," Villager waves cheerfully, and he, Pit and Red make their ways over to me as well - and suddenly, I've never felt better in my entire life, and I'm hugging everyone in turn - aaaaa!

It takes a little while for everyone to pull up chairs and to sit around my bed. Lucas, of course, is still by my side, holding onto me like I've just come back from the dead.

"Hi," I wave nervously at everyone else. "What's up?"

"We missed you," Toon Link beams.

Villager grins too. "Toon Link saved your life, as he's been kind enough to remind us every single hour, so thanks for inflicting that upon us-"

I wipe my eyes. "Thank you Toonie-"

"You're welcome buddy. Any day. Professor Ryu helped too, of course,"

"That I did!" The mysterious Professor sweeps into the room. "I heard all the clamour - I could only assume one thing. Welcome back Ness."

I wave awkwardly. "Hi, Professor."

"You have History work to catch up on."

I groan. "Aw, c'mon!"

Ryu breaks into a smile. "Only kidding - but seriously, it's good to have you back. There were times when we were… well, it wasn't looking good."

"I thought I'd been converted into one of those things, a Future Human," I admit, honestly.

"You don't seem to be very metallic," Lucas mumbles happily.

"I'll leave you to all reunite," Ryu nods, "but I also would like to remind you, Ness, not to distance yourself from Lucas-"

"Don't worry," I say, hastily, "I won't. You're right. I was wrong."

Lucas holds me even tighter. "You're never leaving me ever again. You owe me a lot of hugs."

"I know," I grin, as Ryu leaves the room.

"You've got presents," Toon Link comments, inclining his head with a small smile - and I turn my head, and sure enough-! A tall pile of gifts, and cards, and - and-!

"Presents!" I shout excitedly, and everyone laughs. But who cares - people gave me presents?! Maybe I should be attacked by Future Humans more often. I resolve to read the cards first, though:

To Ness, my idiot brother,

Of course you've gone and got yourself injured. Well done! But seriously, get well soon, yeah?

Also: NO! Do not distance yourself from Lucas! You idiot! You need each other. I bet you got injured because you went off by yourself and did something dumb.

Also, Father's writing to you too. Enjoy that.

~Tracy.

I smile. Tracy's pleasant as always. I read a number of other cards - I'm surprised that even Bayonetta wrote one. Every other card seems to be from Lucas, who blushes each time one is revealed. He must've been very, very bored to write that many. It's sweet though. But eventually, there's only one card left:

Ness,

I'm disappointed that you've managed to get yourself injured. What kind of idiocy were you involving yourself with this time?

~Father.

P.S: Tell Ryu never to send a letter to me, ever again.

I frown. Why would Ryu write to my Father? Lucas shrugs, when he reads it over. I suppose, given they allegedly used to be friends, but… what could've happened between them?

Eh. Who cares about, that when there's better things to think about?

...

…

A large selection of gifts later (many tempting looking edible items included) I lay back, against a pillow. I could get used to a life of lying in bed and opening presents... my head still hurts quite a bit though. I hope it heals. It should heal… I don't know. Who cares - it just feels so damn good to be alive, to be me still, to be with my friends.

I sit up, making to smile at everyone, but my head suddenly spins, and dizzily, I swing from side to side-

An unfamiliar person makes their way over. "Ah, poppet! Didn' I say he'd be ok in a while? Now go on. Get out, the lot of ye."

"Excuse me? We had to treat Ness all by ourselves!" Toon Link turns sharply to the figure - They appear to be some kind of nurse, I think.

They raise their voice. "Get out!"

"Ness is still injured," Lucas protests, holding me protectively.

The nurse turns their back. "Do I care?"

Lucas's mouth opens slightly in shock.

They glare. "Don't make me come over there and injure him again!"

"Alright, alright, we're leaving," Toon Link says reluctantly. Lucas gathers up the presents, and I am left with the suddenly daunting task of standing up-

My face falls. I put a tentative hand to the back of my head, and I'm met with a sharp pain, and bandages. I peel the bandages off.

They're soaked through with red.

How bad are my injuries, really?

My chest hurts as I try to swing my legs round - I think I've broken some ribs. Ow. My eyes water, and suddenly, suddenly I feel myself about to slip back under again, and-

Lucas grabs onto my hand. "Ness? Are you ok?"

I blearily open my eyes. "I don't feel so good anymore."

There's a tender pause.

Lucas eases me out of bed in gentle stages. He starts with the legs, swinging them around to the floor. He proceeds to support me in moving closer to the edge of the bed - and, and he pulls me up, and I think I'm standing but I'm not actually sure, because the pain-

Each step is suffering. I'm not ready to leave this room. I know I'm not ready to leave this room. My breathing increases, the feeling of panic starting to move through me. I think people are speaking - I'm sure they're speaking, but I can't tell. It's all… underwater noise. Yes… I… am Ness. Ness. That is my name. I- I-

My legs give way, and Lucas and Toon Link have to catch me.

Eventually we make our way to the main corridor. My eyes are less fogged, my mind is more in the present, but it's still hard, hard work. Such hard work.

"Ness, let's go bring your gifts up to our dorm," Lucas says, pointedly. The others get the memo, and nod, leaving us alone. I wonder faintly what Lucas has to say - but I'm more daunted about the task of climbing a whole staircase now, without falling over. My balance is off - really off. That's what's wrong. And it's all really, really, bright still - ngh!

Lucas wraps an arm around me, and we take steady, mortifying steps up the staircase. I'm slow. There's ringing in my ears.

It takes a significant length of time, but we manage to reach the top, and it's only a few more steps into the dorm, where I can collapse on Lucas's bed.

Lying down feels suddenly better. My eyes adjust - the pounding in my mind stops momentarily - it's - it's somewhat of an improvement, anyway.

Lucas collapses besides me, and pulls me into an enormous hug. "I don't even know what to say, Ness, I-"

"I'm broken," I mumble.

"You'll heal. You've been lying in a coma for two days. Of course you're not instantly going to be perfectly okay."

I look down at the pillow that my face has landed in. I can't even bring myself to move. "Is it true - you didn't sleep, because you watched over me at night?"

Lucas flushes. "Yeah."

I sigh. "You... goof."

"You goof."

"You must be tired..."

"I am," Lucas admits. "Super tired."

"...Early night?" I suggest.

Lucas smiles. "I'd like that."

I sigh. "I'm sorry for being an idiot Lucas. I really - I do care about you, and I wanted you to be safe, and-"

"And I know, and I understand," Lucas stops me, quietly. "But believe it or not, I need your stupid face."

"I need you too."

"You're so sentimental."

"No you!"

Lucas giggles, and he pulls a blanket over us. I smile, the pain subsiding for a moment. "I missed you."

Lucas's face grows serious. "I missed you too… but I uh, have to confess something. Well, more than one thing, but, but, uh-"

I frown. "Confess something?"

Lucas shivers slightly. "Promise you won't be mad?"

I manage to hug him nervously. "I promise." What's happened? What is this?

"The thing is," Lucas mumbles. "You know the golden egg?"

"Yeah?"

He curls up. "...I was out walking with it, to see if I could get it to open and- and it fell on the floor and - and Wario took it-!"

"Hey, it's okay," I reassure him. "We'll just have to go get it back, won't we?'

Lucas turns his head to face me. "How?"

I grin. "We steal it back, of course! When I'm - well, when I'm less damaged, that is."

Lucas envelopes me in another hug. "I'm glad you're not mad."

"Why would I be mad?" I ask, perplexed.

"Well - just because, because the egg is kinda important but I lost it, and-"

I hug him close. "Screw the egg. Did I miss much else?"

Lucas shrugs. "I figured out a couple of things, I guess."

"What things?"

"Well," he begins. "Remember that chimney in the forest?"

I recall it faintly. "Oh yeah - the one just sticking out of the ground? All the steam and machinery around it?"

Lucas nods. "I realised it must lead into the room underground - the lit up room, where Dark Pit was… trapped."

I gasp. "Lucas, that's not small news, that's huge! We can go down right now and-"

"No," Lucas interrupts me. "We can't do that - we'd have no way back up again. And, plus, what could we do against the villain and - and a load of Future Humans? We're best off finding out who's behind all this while we're above the ground, and then we can send people in to investigate."

I smile. "There's a reason you're the rational one. Did you find anything else out?"

"Well, we ruled out Meta Knight and Olimar, I guess. You know how they've been up to something? Turns out they have a stash of opium."

"That's good too."

"And - and one more thing…" Lucas blushes. "Waiting by your bedside was uh, kinda dull, so I… painted you something. Consider it a gift."

I blush deeply. He painted me something? "You really didn't have to-"

Lucas brings out a sizable canvas, and turns it round and - wow-

He's painted us! That's definitely us! It's so intricate, so detailed… every nook and cranny of my face, of his face, perfectly represented on the canvas. It's - I'm overwhelmed, so I consume Lucas in yet another hug.

It's beautiful. There's no background - but there's no need for one. Lucas has painted us in striking, matching outfits - our arms are around one another - our faces lit up, joyfully. Lucas's hair looks just as fluffy in the painting as it is in real life - and he's even painted my old cap onto my head. It's seriously perfect.

"Do you like it?" Lucas asks timidly.

I snuggle him. "Are you kidding?! I love it! Can we hang it up?"

Lucas glows with pleasure. "Yeah - yeah, let's do that!"

And so it is done - soon enough, is hanging above the bookshelf. I'm flattered. I'm super flattered. Lucas painted us-!

"I'm glad you like it," Lucas mumbles, blushing, when he's sat back down again. I beam at him.

The clock tower chimes for dinner.

"Good! I'm hungry!" I announce. I don't care how much it hurts to stand up, I don't miss my food for anything. But my head really does swim - ngh - Lucas looks at me, concerned.

"I can stand up," I promise him.

"...It doesn't really look like it-"

"No!" I insist, "I am fine." I bear the pain of swinging my legs round - I bear the sudden rushing returning to my head. It's not as bad as before. I lift myself up.

"Ness-"

"I'm fine," I assure Lucas, trying to take a steady step forward, but I miss, and I nearly stumble and fall over.

"Ness-"

"I'm fine, I promise."

I have to be fine. People need me!

Lucas nervously takes my hand, and my eyes sting, slightly. I don't want to be broken. I want to be strong. My rib - my head, they will heal. They have to.

"It's okay, Ness, you can stay back, and I can bring food up here-"

"No!" I determine, weakly. "I must - I'm okay -"

Lucas gives into my stubbornness and helps me down the stairs.

...

"You're completely out of it," Toon Link tells me, and I groan.

I grit my teeth, as my head pounds. "I'm fine, I'll be completely fine."

Villager folds his arms. "You should still be in the medical room, resting up, but that bloody nurse…"

"Oh my gosh, that nurse was useless!" Red speaks up. "Lucas had to tend to you all by himself."

I turn to Lucas. "You-?"

He shrugs. "Yeah."

I sigh. "So, not only did I have my life saved by Toon Link, but by Lucas too? I owe you all a lot."

"You owe us nothing buddy," Toon Link assures me.

Pit comes and sits down. "Hey, how's Ness?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Red sniffs.

Pit looks at me in surprise. "What are you doing here? I'm surprised you're not in bed?"

"I'm fine," I persist.

"I tried to make him stay, but he's very stubborn," Lucas shrugs, eating a sausage slowly.

I stare down at my sausages. All of this worrying about me… I bite down the harsh feelings, and I instead decide to tuck in. Slowly.

Toon Link turns to Villager. "You still up for later?"

Villager nods, a slight glint in his eye. "Yeah, 'course."

"Later? What's going on later?" I ask, intrigued.

Pit laughs. "Ah, Ness, you see, Toon Link and Villager are going down to the lake-"

I raise an eyebrow.

Pit winks. "All by themselves-"

I raise the other eyebrow.

He grins further. "Late at night-"

"Alright, that's quite enough," Toon Link flushes, taking a bite out of a sausage.

"That's not the only sausage he'll be eating tonight-" Pit whispers to me, and I almost choke on my food.

"Hey! What did he say?" Toon Link demands.

"Nothing-" I splutter, downing about a pint of water to allow me to breathe again. "Nothing at all-"

Lucas frowns. "Yeah, what did he say?"

I flush. "Uh - I'll tell you later, Lucas."

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Pit," Lucas says, changing the subject softly.

Pit shrugs. "Well - sort of better. I guess. There's, uh, moments when… heh... but you guys have helped me through this, massively."

Toon Link makes to pat Pit on the shoulder, but he decides against it at the last minute. "No problem, bud."

Dinner ends, and most of us resign ourselves to the Games room, our usual location of choice. The food helped, I think. I manage to walk to the games room for at least half of the journey without assistance. I can think semi-clearly. Villager and Toon Link, however, make their way outside - I grin internally, as I watch them out the door, walking down the hill, until they're swallowed by the darkness of the night. I hope it works out for them! I really do - Toon Link deserves someone to love.

"What do you think's going on out there?" Lucas asks innocently.

"Hopefully they're getting together…" Pit sighs, leaning back.

"Getting together?" Red repeats, affronted. "But they're both boys!"

Oh dear.

Lucas, knowing that I'm not cool yet about my own sexuality, swiftly grabs my hand. "Yeah, Red, that's a thing. Some guys are into guys, some girls are into girls. That's sorta just how it is."

Red leans forwards inquisitively. "Is it scientifically proven?"

"Yeah," Lucas nods.

"Hm," Red leans back. "I never knew. Then, I, too, hope they, how you say, 'get together'."

"You do!?" I ask, surprised.

"Yes."

I lean back. "Uh, well, seeing as everyone here seems to be okay with it, then, well, I want to say that I'm into guys too."

"Cool," Red nods.

"Knew it," Pit nods too.

I fold my arms "Knew it?! What does that mean?"

"I just sorta guessed, is all."

"Does that mean you and Lucas have 'got together'?" Red asks.

I blush. "No - no, we're just friends."

"Best friends," Lucas corrects me, warmly.

"Now," I begin, steering the subject away from all this. "There's actually something that Lucas and I need help with."

"And what's that?" Red asks.

"Raiding Wario's office."

"I'm out," Red declares instantly, leaving the room.

"Why do you need to raid Wario's office?" Pit asks curiously.

"Wario stole something of ours," I explain.

"Ness-" Lucas mumbles.

I turn to him. "It's okay, Lucas." I turn back to Pit. "But what do you say? You in?"

"Sure."

I nod, "Great, so we'll-"

"We?" Lucas asks suddenly. "Ness, you can't, you're still healing. Who knows what Wario would do if he caught you? You can barely walk, and-"

"I'm fine, Lucas-"

"Lucas is right," Pit says, grimly. "You need rest. Lucas, what is it that Wario took?"

"A golden egg - but Pit, you shouldn't-"

"I owe you guys," Pit assures us. "Lucas, you take Ness up, put him to bed-"

"But I don't want to go to bed!" I protest.

Lucas wraps an arm around me. "Ness, you're really hurt, you should be resting up. But Pit, you really don't have to do this-"

"Don't worry. Dark Pit and I-" he catches himself. "I mean, I am good at picking locks."

"If you're sure," Lucas mumbles. Pit nods, and disappears out of the room, leaving Lucas and I alone.

"I'm fine," I say again, but I'm just repeating myself.

"Come on Ness," Lucas takes my hand, pulling me up. "To bed with you."

...

I lie in bed, thoroughly disgruntled. This is torture. I want to go out and speak to my friends, and live my life, but because of a stupid pair of injuries, I'm being made to lie here. I'm worthless like this.

You're still worthless when you're not like this.

Hello, Buttercup.

Hello.

I sigh into my pillow. I want to cry, I want to do anything, but I can't. I just can't.

Lucas comes to sit besides me. "Ness, you'll heal, I promise."

"Go away."

"I'm not going to go away."

"I hate this."

"I know you do."

"I feel so worthless."

"You'll heal, Ness. I promise."

"I know. But I'm broken now."

"I know." Lucas wraps tender arms around me.

"I want to be - I want to be strong, and I want to be fine, but-"

"Ness, a part of being strong is knowing when to retreat. Knowing when to heal."

"But-"

"Be strong, Ness. Heal."

I grumble into my pillow. He's right. If I ever want to get past this - I have to grin and bear it. I have to accept it, and be calm about it. Which is nearly impossible. Ngh!

"Would you - would you like a massage?" Lucas asks, timidly.

I'm thrown off. I wonder if I heard wrong through the rushing noise in my mind. "A - huh? What?"

"A massage - it might ease some of the pain, a little. You're really tense…"

"Uh - sure," I say, bemused.

"Alright, lie down on your front," Lucas instructs me, and I do as I'm told. And suddenly, I'm in heaven - Lucas massages and kneads my shoulders, and it's like - ah, it's like I'm melting, drifting away, on a sunbeam. It's like, suddenly, everything wrong with me is disappearing. It's like Lucas is pounding Buttercup - like he's crushing all of the worry, all of the self doubt. I had no idea massages were supposed to feel this good - ngh!

Lucas finishes, and I melt into the bedcovers. Relaxation tingles through me - shooting bolts down my spine, shivers down my arms, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

"Mmf-" I just about manage to say.

"Did that help?" Lucas asks timorously.

"It was amazing…" I smile into the pillows.

Lucas lays down besides me. "I'm glad."

"Where did you learn to-?"

Lucas shifts. "Well, selling my stuff isn't the only way I made money."

"You gave people massages?"

"Yeah. 5 shillings for one massage. It earnt… decently, I guess."

I nod, intrigued. Lucas has never really been open about his life of selling things for his Father. Every little secret he tells me - I treasure. I store his secrets away, knowing I am fortunate to be trusted with them.

I move to face him again. "Useful skill."

He averts his eyes. "Yeah…"

"What else did you do to earn money?" I ask, feeling like today, maybe we can open up a little.

I feel Lucas move slightly besides me. "Well, this and that."

"You know I'd help you if I could-" I begin, but Lucas cuts me off.

"No - it's okay. You really wouldn't wanna…"

"No, no I really would, I want to help you, Lucas, but-"

"But your Father doesn't even let you leave the house," Lucas mumbles, sadly.

"Yeah."

"Really, Ness, you don't want to get involved in the street life."

"The street life?" I frown. "What do you mean?"

I feel him quake, just a little bit. "Well… recently Father hasn't necessarily let me come home, everyday. It's rare, but if I've not made enough money, or if he's been in a bad mood, well, I've had to sleep rough."

I let out a strangled gasp. "What? You could've come round mine! I'd have let you stay!"

He averts his eyes. "I couldn't. I really couldn't."

"But-!"

He stares at me, eyes bright. "I know, it might not make much sense, but I couldn't. It would've been risky."

"I'm s-sorry-!"

He lightly touches his face. "No, no. It's fine. I put up with it. Sleeping rough was fine. Some people sucked, but, it was fine. I made do."

There's a fragile pause.

I nervously move closer to him. "You really don't have to talk about any of this if you don't want to-"

"I think I should. I've not been fully honest with you."

"Lu-"

"Just, bear with me, okay? This is kinda scary."

"Scary? Lucas, what's up? What's going on? What else happened?"

He breathes a ragged breath. "I-"

There's another moment of silence. I fear I know what's coming - I think I know what he's going to say, but…

He closes his eyes for a while, evidently trying to stabilise his breathing. "When I'm not at school, when making money for Father, when I'm on the street, well, I separate that part of my life off from the rest of it. That's important - that's really important to understand."

"Okay," I nod.

Lucas breathes another ragged breath, planting his face into the pillow, almost as if he's trying to suffocate himself. "Ness, it's - it's really bad out there, there's bad, bad people, I-"

He breathes out, and he breathes in. Whatever this is, it's hard for him. I take his hand in mine, as we both lay side by side, and I give it a comforting squeeze, as if to tell him he can say whatever he feels comfortable with saying.

"It wasn't just - it wasn't just selling stuff, and, massages," Lucas chokes, through the pillow. "Ness, t-there were - I -"

I tense, fully prepared for what he's going to say.

"This is - this is hard," he stammers.

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

"I will. Just - hold on - I need a moment-"

There's a long pause.

He takes a deep breath. "There was a man."

"A… man?"

He shudders. "A horrible man. He found me, selling, one day."

"What did he do to you?" I ask, suddenly defensive. "What did he do?"

Lucas shrinks back. "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"

There's a beat of silence, before I pull him near. "Oh, God, Lucas, I didn't mean-"

He curls up. "I'm sorry, I - Ness. It- it was the only way I could - I could make enough to come to school - and to pay, pay the rent - I just - I - it was-"

I let him bury his face into my chest.

"And - and I never told you - and -"

"Lucas, what happened? What are you saying?"

"I'm - I didn't, I didn't do anything - I wouldn't - I wouldn't know - but - but they, they did things - things to me -"

I bite lip. "They? Who's they, Lucas?"

He takes a deep, ragged, breath. "Customers. The man's customers."

"The man's-?"

"I'd do things for them. The man would make me do things for them."

Dread creeps up my spine. "Lucas, Lucas, you don't mean-"

"N-Not - full on, well, you know-" Lucas adds quickly, with a shudder. "But, but, massages, amongst, amongst other, worse, things."

"Lucas," I whisper, hoarsely. "Lucas, I, I-"

"I'm sorry," Lucas mumbles.

"W-What sort of worse things?" I ask, tenuously.

He mimes, and I understand.

"Lucas, I-"

He feels so small, so defenseless and vulnerable, in my arms. I pull the covers up around us, trying to bring us some warmth, while also trying not to cry myself.

I speak. "S-So, this man made you work for him? Do things for people? How long has this been happening?"

He tremors. "Two years, it, the first time was, in - in summer, the summer that I never, that I never wrote, or came round to your house - I was - I was s-so ashamed-"

I hold him impossibly nearer. "It's okay. I promise."

"I - I never wanted to do it! It was never - never a choice, but, the customers, they, they had to get their way, or- or- and they were horrible, violent, Ness, violent, awful people. A-Awful."

"Lucas, if you're comfortable saying… what, what exactly happened?"

Lucas shudders, unresponsive.

"Sorry," I backtrack. "Too personal?"

"No - no, I should," Lucas mumbles. "You're right. The man, one day, he - he - he came to me. When I was selling, he came. He told me to do what he said, or, or-"

"Or what?"

He merely shakes his head. I hold him tighter in my arms. "Lucas…"

"He owned me, Ness. I was - I was his. Like a slave. I did what he made me. When I didn't, he'd hurt me. The alternatives were - were, too bad. Too bad. I was trapped."

"So, so, he made you work for the customers? He blackmailed you?"

Lucas lets out sob, and I hold him, rubbing his back, trying to wordlessly tell him how much he means to me, how important he is. How it's okay, and I accept him.

I know there's more. I know there's more to this, to whatever happened to Lucas. His reaction alone proves that. But, I always have had a feeling - a bad feeling about what happens to Lucas when he's not at school, or not at my house. Sometimes he'd show up to my door, flustered, hair in a mess, sweating, and he'd instantly rush to the bathroom. He's always been vague about things - but this happening - this-

"I'm s-sorry, Ness."

"Why are you sorry?" I demand. "You've done nothing wrong. You've been used by some awful, awful man, and that's not okay! I swear, I'll never, ever, let that man near you again. You're so important to me, Lucas. You know? So, so important."

Lucas nods slowly.

It sickens me. It sickens me to the core - I want to find this man, to gut him, to destroy him, for blackmailing Lucas like that. With threats. Violence. Possibly worse. And for what?! Why would the man do that? For money? And all the shame he's given Lucas. All the hurt. All the guilt he's caused, that can only have been perfectly conditioned to make Lucas feel like it's his fault.

And that's not okay.

Lucas breathes shakily. "I tried, I tried going to other places to sell, running away - but, but the man, the man and the customers - they found me - they always did."

I have a thought. "Lucas, the man using you like that was illegal. Did you tell the police?"

He shakes his head. "H-He threatened-"

I shiver. Lucas has been through so damn much. Way more than his fair share. His mother. His brother. Now this. I have a feeling that this is years worth of tears pouring out of him now. I can feel it - I can even feel his sadness, emanating from him, through our psychic powers.

"Thank you, f-for not - not hating me, Ness."

I hold him even nearer. "I'd never hate you, not ever! It's not your fault. It wasn't your choice."

"Sorry for not - for never mentioning it-"

"You didn't have to mention it."

"I - I never, I never am going to let - let any of it happen, ever again. Never. I won't let them. I'll - I'll do something else. The debt - the debt is paid off, now - and - and my Father can - can bloody well pay for the rent himself! He doesn't care about me - and - and then all I'd need is money for school - which is easier, quicker to make-"

I cradle him in my arms. "I'll keep you safe from it. From that hell. I promise. I'll tell the police, I'll, I'll fight him myself!"

"D-Don't go anywhere near him," Lucas warns.

"Why not?"

I sense hesitation. "Because he'll do the same to you."

There's more - I know there's more! But I can't bring myself to ask. Not now.

He nods, wrapping himself around me, holding me tight, like I'm an anchor, and he's adrift at sea.

I frown. "Why put up with all that, though, why keep selling outside, just to make money for school? You could've gone to the public school. It's cheaper."

"It's - they made me, Ness-"

"But - you could've, you could've, stayed at home, and avoided it."

He tries in vain to wipe his eyes. "The man came to my door. He took me. Fear. It was fear. The man had - had weapons. I'd do what he said. I had to."

I can't believe I never noticed this. Never did anything! "How did you get through it?"

He thinks. "I'd - I'd imagine myself somewhere else. I'd think of friends. Of you. I'd think of anything else. I'd tell myself it was worth it."

"Worth it? Is anything worth that?"

He quakes. "The little money the man gave me, it, it was enough to let me come to school. To see - to see you, to see the others - it - it would've been the only escape from-"

I sniffle. "Lucas, you are the strongest person that I have ever met. You're incredible, you really are. And telling me this happened - that's really brave."

"I never thought you'd accept it," Lucas mumbles. "That this has been happening. Never in a million years."

I continue to rub his back. "We're best friends for a reason. I'll always accept you. I'll protect you."

Lucas tries again to dry his eyes. "If only it were that simple."

"If only."

He smiles weakly through the haze of tears, inclining his head so that he can see me. "It will be - it will all be fine."

I wipe his eyes. "We're together. Who cares if I'm hurt, who cares if all that's been happening to you, we're together. And nothing can stop that."

He wipes my eyes too - I didn't even know there were tears. "We stay together."

"No matter what."

"We count up the good times,"

"Explore the secrets of the universe,"

"...Together," we finish in unison.

"I hated it," Lucas murmurs into my shoulder.

"I - I know." I can't imagine.

"Some people are - well, it's -"

I nod slowly.

"..."

"I'm sorry that it's been so bad for you. Life. Everything that's happened..."

He looks pained. "Please… don't talk about my life like it's some big tragedy."

"Oh - I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay, but - but, I've learnt to be strong."

"You're very strong," I assure him.

"I... try."

"What was the man's name?" I ask.

"...It was a strange name..."

"...?"

He thinks hard. "...Geld- Geld- Geldegarde?"

"I don't know them," I admit. "But I hate them."

Lucas's voice comes out barely a whisper. "I hate him too."

We lie there in contemplative silence for a while, around half an hour, his head resting on my chest, our arms around one another. We're just best friends, I have to agonisingly remind myself. Nothing more. I'll get over this silly crush - Lucas has got enough worries without me crushing on him. Look at me, thinking about myself, when Lucas feels like this! I think it all over. Yet, I don't feel at all surprised.

Lucas. Poor Lucas.

...

"Sorry for crying, and making everything wet," Lucas murmurs, eventually.

My eyes widen with surprise. "You have to be kidding? It's alright to cry, Lucas. Especially about this."

"I'll be okay," Lucas repeats. "The bad memories will - they'll go away."

"I'll replace them with good memories," I offer, and Lucas smiles.

"I'd like that. Thank you Ness. I - you're amazing."

There's another pause.

I sigh. "So much is happening to you, so why am I always the sad one? You're so brave."

"Do you want the scientific answer or the personal answer, or the magical answer?"

I think. "All 3."

He unravels himself from me, instead choosing to lay by my side. "Magical answer - we're supposed to be more emotional because we're psychics. I guess because I'm more powerful, I have more control over that. Personally, I'm not sure. Maybe because I separate that life from this life. Scientifically - it'll be because of a chemical imbalance in your mind. That causes mood swings, and your chemicals must've ended up worse than mine."

"So I was born wrong," I groan. "Great."

He takes a blanket, and puts it over me. "That's not what I meant."

"If only I was calm like you." I bite my lip.

"You're already perfect, to me, Ness."

The compliment fills me with that warm, fuzzy feeling. "You're perfect too."

He pokes me on the nose. "Sappy goof. My favourite sappy goof."

I poke him back. "Shy bean. My favourite shy bean."

He giggles, despite the gravity of our conversation, and I find myself giggling too - until it devolves into full-on laughter. Only we could be this ridiculous.

There's a knock at the door.

Hastily, I turn, and Lucas rapidly removes himself from me, standing up, removing any evidence that he's been crying. I opt for pretending to sleep.

"Hello?" Lucas calls.

The door opens, and Pit walks inside. "One golden egg?"

I hear Lucas gasp, though I can't see the action. Lucas speaks: "You - you managed-?!"

Pit's footsteps come a little closer. "I did." There's the clunk of a metal egg touching down on the bookshelf. Pit's footsteps move away again. "Is Ness asleep?"

"Yeah," Lucas replies.

"...Good. Uh - something's happened."

Lucas's voice takes a worried tone. "Happened?"

"...Uh…"

I end my sleeping pretence, and I sit up. "What? What's happened?

"Well… I think it's best you come and see…"

Ten minutes later, when Lucas has helped me down the stairs, Pit leads us to the main corridor where - where-

Painted in big, magenta letters:

Toon Link is a fag.

Lucas dabs a finger against the pink lettering, and he observes it. "Still wet."

My stomach sinks, as I stare flatly at the wall, horrified. "How-!? I don't understand how-"

"I don't know either," Pit echoes, grimly. "Toon Link and Villager are still outside; I'm not sure when this appeared-"

"Maybe it just means he's a cigarette?" I suggest hopefully, but Pit shakes his head.

"I don't understand - what does it mean?" Lucas asks.

"It's a derogatory term for homosexuals," Pit explains.

Lucas sighs. "Oh, lovely."

People walk by, laughing-! For once, it's not me in the firing line of disaster - but… "We have to get rid of it!" I conclude.

"We can't," Lucas mumbles, "it's the stupid paint from the art room - it's not going away." The paint from the art room is renowned for being impossible to remove from clothes, from hair, from anything that can be coloured by it.

I bite my lip. "Well, what do we do?!"

"We find out who painted this!" Pit dictates.

Lucas thinks. "Well, Red's the only other one who knew…"

I nod, which causes my head to spin - I fall back against the wall, just about catching myself on it- I close my eyes, trying to regain my balance. Ngh.

Lucas helps me back up, and I groan.

"You don't think Red did it, do you?" Pit asks suddenly. "I mean, he did just find out…"

Speak of the devil - Red runs up to us, along the hall. "What is going on?"

I point to the wall. "Do you know anything about this?"

Red gasps for breath - he seems remarkably off-peak. "I've made a big mistake."

"Red, what did you do?" Lucas asks carefully.

"I didn't know guys being into guys was a bad thing!"

"It's not a bad thing," Pit protests.

"Well - I was talking to Popo, and I told him that Toon Link and Villager might be getting together and-"

"You did what?!" Pit asks sharply.

"I thought it was normal! You all said it was normal!"

"Red - it is normal, but it's really frowned upon - please, do not tell anyone else."

"You didn't tell Popo about me, did you?" I ask quickly.

Red puffs for breath. "I didn't - as soon as I mentioned Toon Link, he ran off! The cheek of it!"

"Which direction did he run?" Lucas asks quietly.

"Towards the artistic room."

Lucas bites his lip. "I think we've found our vandal."

"What am I going to do?" Red asks, with a surprising amount of panic in his voice. "I had no idea that this would happen! I thought this would be statistically impossible!"

"We could paint over it!" I suggest, but Lucas shakes his head.

"We can't paint over it. We'd be caught."

"We have to do something! Toon Link will be bullied relentlessly!" Pit protests, just as I notice two familiar people coming in the door - Toon Link and Villager are back.

Pit starts dictating the action. "Quick! Ness, go over there, make sure Toon Link doesn't come this way!"

"I can't run!" I protest.

"Lucas - you go, in that case-"

Lucas nods, swiftly moving over to the pair.

Pit turns to Red. "Red, you go and get a big cloth from the Trades classroom."

Red nods shakily, and he runs off.

Pit swivels around to me. "Ness, stay here. Make sure nobody pays too much attention to the wall. I'm going to try and find Popo."

"Okay," I say, and Pit dashes off.

I breathe heavily - how could Popo do this?! I can't be mad at Red - he didn't know, we didn't tell him not to tell anybody… I feel suddenly guilty. If only I'd thought to mention that.

Poor Toon Link. If only, it had been my name painted on the wall, instead of his… I'm the one crushing on my best friend, after all. Toon Link doesn't deserve this! I hope nobody sees. I hope his secret stays safe - but as I think that, more people walk by and laugh...

Toon Link needs his reputation. Toon Link's reputation for having parties, for being a laugh, it's important to him. What others think of him means a lot. Something like this graffiti could ruin that forever! I don't care so much what people think of me, but for Toon Link… I shudder.

Others walk by. Link comes-

"Is it really true?" Link asks me.

I fold my arms. "No it's not. Go away."

Link laughs as he leaves. I hate this.

My mind drifts back to Lucas. Poor Lucas. I feel so bad. Those people - that man, Geldegarde, whoever the hell he is, I hate him. I imagine a shadowy figure - an angry man, knives in his pockets. A dark hat, rich with wealth, bursting with evil intent.

I realise I'm imagining Porky.

I bet Geldegarde is somehow in with Porky. I bet it! They're both evil, money-hoarding fiends. Both awful, awful people.

Speaking of awful people - along comes Popo.

"Hey!" I shout, angrily.

Popo grins. "Like my handiwork?"

I see red, and I push him against the corridor wall. "Why the hell would you do this?!"

"It's a prank, it's a joke! Chill, bro!"

"A joke?! This is not a joke! A joke is - I don't know, making people laugh?"

"Well I think it's funny."

"It's not funny. It's despicable."

He's still grinning! He sniggers. "You're despicable."

"Don't try me," I threaten. "I've just about had it with people doing awful things today."

Popo laughs more. "I'm not scared of you."

"I'll-!" My head spins, cutting me off, and I stagger backwards. Popo takes advantage, pushing me back, until I'm falling against the other wall - the paint-coated wall - oh no-

"You look good covered in magenta paint," Popo snickers.

"You brat!" I surge towards him, but suddenly, I'm interrupted by Wario coming out of his office.

He sneers. "Ness! Caught pink-handed!" He laughs at his own joke.

I frown. "Wha-?"

"Graffitiing the walls? You're coming to the Headmaster!"

I cry out in outrage. "Wha- hey! This wasn't me!"

"You're covered in pink paint. It was clearly you."

"It was Popo!" I point, but Popo seems to have disappeared.

Wario's eyes light up with silent glee. "There's nobody there, WAH!"

Pit comes hurtling around the corner. "Ness - I couldn't find Popo - but - oh-"

Wario turns to face Pit. "Were you involved in this vandalism too, then?"

"It was Popo!" I protest. "He pushed me against the wall - that's why I'm covered in paint!"

Lucas's voice comes from the other end of the corridor. "Toon Link - Villager - please, do not go this way!"

Toon Link frowns. "What? You're hiding something down here, I know it."

"Sorry Pit - I'm no good at convincing people," Lucas mumbles, before noticing Wario. "Oh-"

Toon Link strides down the corridor, and he takes a look at the wall. His face moves from relaxed to panicked, to calm again in a matter of seconds.

"So!" Wario gleefully counts on his fingers. "Ness, Pit, you're coming with me to the Headmaster, for being involved in vandalism. Toon Link - if you're a fag, then that's illegal! So you're coming with me too. And Lucas, I saw you stole my golden egg, so you're coming as well."

"What?!" I protest. "That's not fair!"

"Business isn't fair," Wario grins. "Now, come."

Toon Link remains completely mute.

...

"What exactly did they do again?" Headmaster Hand asks wearily.

Wario sneers. "Toon Link is a homosexual, I caught Pit and Ness vandalising the wall, and Lucas stole from me."

"I see," Headmaster Hand sighs. "Right, let's start with the vandalism. Where, and what did they do?"

"It wasn't us!" I interrupt. "It was Popo who wrote Toon Link is a fag on the corridor wall!"

Toon Link shifts nervously next to me.

"Ness, peace. Professor Wario, what do you think happened?"

"Well, I caught Ness, covered in paint, by the scene!"

"Because I was pushed against the wall!" I protest. My head swings again - I stumble into Lucas, who catches me.

Headmaster Hand turns. "Professor Wario, did Ness have a bucket of paint, or any paint brushes with him when you found him?"

"Well, no-"

"Then, quite simply, it can't have been them."

Wario grumbles. "Fine! But Lucas stole from me!"

"That was me -" Pit says hurriedly.

Wario turns. "You?!"

Headmaster hand stares at Pit. "What did you steal?"

"A golden egg," Pit replies. "Because Wario-"

"Professor Wario," Headmaster Hand interrupts.

"-Professor Wario stole it from Lucas first."

"Did you give this item back to Lucas after taking it again?"

Pit nods. "Yes."

Headmaster Hand turns to me. "Ness, can you go and get this golden egg?"

I sigh. "Not really. It hurts to walk, you see."

"Ah yes, of course, your coma. Welcome back to reality. Lucas, can you go and fetch it instead?"

Lucas nods shakily, opening the door, but Bowser and Rosalina obstruct his path.

"Can I help you?" Headmaster Hand asks them, strenuously.

"Yes!" Rosalina announces. "Professor Bowser has been abusing students!"

"And Professor Rosalina should be fired, because she's a woman!" Bowser growls.

Headmaster Hand takes another heavily strained breath. "Okay. Both of you. Please, sit and wait here, while I deal with this."

Lucas leaves the room. Headmaster Hand looks extremely stressed - I pity him.

Lucas eventually comes back, egg in hand, but he's followed by, to my surprise, Professor Shulk and Professor Ryu.

Headmaster Hand's polite expression is rather forced at this point. "Can I help?"

"Yes," Shulk starts. "From the art room, a bucket of magenta paint has been stolen, and then I discovered, to my surprise, that the wall of the main corridor has been vandalised with it."

Headmaster hand breathes out tightly. "Yes, I know about that. Please, join the others in the queue. And Professor Ryu? Why are you here?"

"Well," Ryu shifts, "I probably shouldn't disclose that in front of all of these people."

"...Join the queue."

There's an awkward pause as Ryu walks over to stand by the wall.

Wario sneers. "That is my golden egg!"

"It's not!" I protest, hotly. "It's Lucas's!"

Headmaster Hand observes it. "What even is this thing?"

I look over at the sudden audience of professors - it's very likely that one of them knows exactly what the egg is. One of them made this thing, trapped me in a strange dream world with it, and put something mysterious inside of it! I check their eyes - Shulk is looking blank, Bowser greedy, Wario outraged, Ryu… hm. I can't quite make out what his expression is. My suspicions heighten.

Headmaster Hand rolls the egg across the table. "Lucas, you say this is yours - but what is it?"

"A - a trophy!" Lucas lies.

"A trophy? What for?"

"For - for chicken… racing?"

I brush my forehead against Lucas's, just enough to speak into his mind.

'Chicken racing?'

'Shut up', comes the snarky reply. I grin in spite of myself.

"I… see," frowns Headmaster Hand. Professor Wario, what about you?

"Huh?"

Lucas thinks quickly. "Professor Wario also stole another ornament of mine."

"What?!" Wario snarls. "I only stole the egg!"

At least half of the professors around the room facepalm. Lucas is smart - of course Wario fell for that trick. Headmaster Hand gives the egg to Lucas. "I guess that's the case closed, thank you, Professor Wario. But now, onto the more worrisome matter. Toon Link-"

Toon Link shifts.

"-These accusations of you being a homosexual are very serious."

Toon Link stares at the ground, speaking out for the first time since seeing the wall. "I'm not a homosexual."

"If you are found to be a homosexual, and you are lying, you could face imprisonment, or the death penalty."

"I am not a homosexual," Toon Link repeats.

"Prove it," Wario snarls.

Toon Link pulls a face. "Uh, how?"

Headmaster Hand sighs, checking the clock. "It's 8:15. I don't have much time for this. Since we apparently have an audience," he indicates to all the professors. "Let's make it simple with a jury vote. Should Toon Link be punished? Raise your hand if you think he should be."

Wario and Bowser instantly raise their hands - but I notice Shulk is staring absent-mindedly at Headmaster Hand's desk, his hand not raised - and Rosalina and Ryu's hands are down, too!

Headmaster Hand turns. "Toon Link, since there is no evidence, and I, and this information will not leave this room, I do not personally have any issue with homosexuality, you are free to go. But, be careful."

"Yes, Headmaster," Toon Link nods sullenly.

We are dismissed out of the room, where Villager is waiting for us. The other professors remain, except Wario, who storms off to his office.

Toon Link eyes the floor.

I step forward tentatively. "Toonie, are you ok?"

"I'm… fine," he lies.

Villager hugs Toon Link gently. "We accept you, okay?"

Toon Link's expression hardly changes. "...Yeah."

"It's my fault," Pit sighs. "I told Red that - and then he - and then Popo-"

"I-I- understand."

There's an uneasy silence that falls over everyone.

"I'm - I'm just going to go to bed," Toon Link sighs, turning.

"I'll come too," Pit agrees, and the pair make their way away, to the dorm stairs.

Red meanwhile comes rushing up to us, with a giant sheet dragging behind him. "I got the cloth!"

"I'm afraid it's a bit too late for that," Lucas mumbles, yawning.

My head swims again - I teeter, catching myself on the wall. Villager pats Red on the back. "Sorry, Red. I'll take the cloth back when I next have Trades."

Lucas yawns again - he must still be tired from his two nights without any sleep.

"I just feel so bad for Toonie," Villager continues. "I wish there was something I could do… unless… but no…"

"Lucas and I are going to bed," I announce.

"Goodnight," Villager nods to us. "Hope you heal, Ness. And I hope you're less tired tomorrow, Lucas."

"Thanks," Lucas yawns, again. We begin the gentle trudge up the stairs - each step causes my chest to throb just a little bit more, and my head just to weigh me down a little heavier.

I'll shake this off. I'm strong, I have to shake this off. If Lucas can get through all of that… Then I can deal with whatever this is.

We get into our dorm after a while, and I pull off my paint-covered t-shirt. "I think that was my last shirt, that hadn't been burnt by the fire, or ruined by some other chaos," I comment.

Lucas laughs softly, placing the golden egg back on the bookshelf. "It's ok. Villager promised to lend us anything we needed."

Lucas and I face away from each other, and get changed into pyjamas. It takes me a little while, but I do manage in the end. I lie myself down in my bed, and Lucas lies in his.

"Pretty awful day, huh?" I mumble.

"I got my best friend back. It's not been too bad."

I smile gently. "You're so sentimental."

"I know."

There's a little pause, and I adjust my pillow. "You know, it was brave of you to tell me all that stuff, about the street life."

Lucas turns to face me, from across the room. His hair flops just a little, in front of his eyes. "I know I can tell you anything."

"I owe it to you - to tell you about my home life, a bit more."

"Ness, you owe me nothing at all."

"...Can I tell you anyway?"

Lucas brushes the hair out of his eyes. "Of course you can."

"...The word - the F word, on the wall… My Father uses it a lot. It never really affected me before, but, now that I know that I'm, well, into guys..."

His face falls. "...I wish more people were accepting."

"I can never tell him," I sigh. "But, it's not like I can tell him stuff anyways."

"What about your mother?" Lucas asks, timidly. "She's always seemed really nice."

"She's awesome," I smile. "She'd understand. So would Tracy."

A smile plays on Lucas's lips. "Remember that time Tracy locked us in your bathroom?"

"Ah, yeah! We had to beg her to let us out."

Lucas looks at me with soft eyes, and I beam back. I love reminiscing on the good times.

But he looks down to the floor. "I'm sorry about your Father."

I shrug. "He sucks."

"The king of suck."

"The biggest sucker in the land."

"Super Sucker."

We find ourselves laughing for quite a significant amount of time, before I finally roll on my back. "We should probably try and get some sleep."

"Yeah," Lucas agrees. "I guess we should."

I smile at him. "Goodnight."

He smiles back. "Goodnight."

…

I stare up at the ceiling, trying to clear my mind, and to fall asleep, but my thoughts keep moving around the place again. Suspecting different people - it could be Ryu behind all this! It could be Bowser, it could be Wario, it could be - heck, it could even be The Face, sneaking into school through the passages… I quiver just thinking about it.

Nothing quite adds up, of course. How would the Face have written a book about Future Humans, and then burnt it, causing the fire to start? How would the Face be going through the school, undetected, luring people to its underground hideaway? Like with Pit and Dark Pit - the note, inviting them to a party. But then again, something rules out every single adult in the school.

My thoughts drift to the students instead. Meta Knight and Olimar are busy dealing Opium - so it's not them. It could be… Popo? Link? I don't know. I have no idea.

But then there's all the random clues as well - the figurine, the golden egg, it's as if the villain is making it all dramatic, making it difficult to figure out… leaving red herrings…

I roll over, and it hurts my chest, so I roll back over again. The villain supposedly hates me - but why? Did something happen? The only person I can think of that hates me is my Father - and no way he's doing all this from so far away.

I need to sleep, I remind myself.

You're never going to sleep.

Oh, great. Buttercup. Of course. Just when I needed a negative voice in my head.

You made me up.

My head stings once again, and the seconds, the minutes, and soon enough the hours, trickle by of me lying there, theorising, mulling over what Lucas told me, worrying about school, thinking about crazy things, with the sort of brain activity that I could really do with having during the day-

...

There's no clock, but I estimate at least an hour and a half has passed by this point. It's getting frustrating. Is this how Toon Link feels every night? The pain in my head has evolved to become a throbbing drumbeat of aching that just won't subside.

"Ness?" Lucas whispers, and I jump. "Are you still awake?"

"Yeah," I whisper back.

"...I can't sleep," Lucas mumbles. "I keep thinking about everything-"

"Me too."

"A-And- it's cold, and I'm - I'm kinda scared. I keep worrying that we're not alone."

I shift along a little, making some space. "...There's room over here, if you'd like."

"...'' There's a small pause, before I hear Lucas's bed covers rustle, and the smaller boy joins me.

"Hi," I whisper.

"Hi," Lucas whispers back.

I pull the covers back over us, delicately wrapping an arm around my best friend. He moves into me a little bit, before closing his eyes, his head against the pillow.

Comforted, I rest my head too, and my eyes close, finally dropping me into a deep sleep.

A/N

…

Shouts angrily at half of the characters for being complete asses-

Introducing Geldegarde, an antagonist of Earthbound. His appearance here is not at all canon to the game, but oh well.

Poor Lucas. I teared up a little writing this chapter. I kept changing things about this chapter as well - the intro bit was only 3 lines long at first.

Sorry it's a bit late - it's another long one. It wasn't going to be long, until I added a ton of stuff into the chapter. Also, schoolwork has been hitting me hard.

Notes:

Homophobic 1800s society still sucks. I'm glad I was born in the present, and not then.

'Fag' being used derogatively against gay people was not a thing until the 1900s, but I included it anyway, because like I said at the beginning, the dialogue and the text is all in modern English, for the sake of convenience. Also, I'm gay myself so I get to reclaim the word and use it in my writing B)

This is the bit where I'd say who Geldegarde is in Earthbound canon but I already did that-

Reviews:

"When I first read the premise and author's notes, I rolled my eyes and nearly closed the tab. I don't normally like kid-focused fanfics and the AU premise didn't fill me with confidence. But then I read the first few sentences. And the next few. And I kept on reading, all the way to the end of chapter 1.

I'm hooked now. Congrats! This is definitely a gem in the rough!"

Thank you! I'm glad this fic has stood out amongst some of the others. I do need to update the summary, because it's terrible lol. When you reach this chapter, hopefully I will have done just that-

Thanks again for reading,

~~ReadyForTeddy