So after the robotic debacle, I was left a little bit confused as to what I'd be doing next. As it turns out, the answer was a vacation. Master Porky was kind enough to give me a week to do whatever I wanted! He said I could go anywhere I wanted, provided it wasn't anywhere near Tazmily or off the Nowhere Islands. Mind you, that second stipulation doesn't really mean much, because the only other piece of land nearby is Tanetane Island, which is rather dangerous – there are a number of strange mushrooms which cause all sorts of odd effects.
Still, I'm curious about are the places that Porky used to live in. Onett was his hometown apparently, yet there's no land in sight. He is incredibly old though, so it's probably gone. But the land it was built on should remain though – but again, there's no land at all. I've heard some of the Pigmasks say that a great calamity hit the planet – destroying everything. Except the Nowhere Islands – hence their name.
I'll need to do some research into this at a different point in time. I would get a book from the Chimera Laboratory, but I don't feel comfortable getting more books when I've already taken two. Speaking of research, I should get back to reading PSI and I.
I spend the first three days exploring the island, going to three different mountains. First up, a snowy peak to the west of New Pork City. It's an eternal winter here, but the wildlife don't let up. Snowboarding yetis occasionally attack me as well as frozen dogs which use PK Freeze on me to great effect. Getting by isn't all that easy. Eventually, I'm forced to give up – the winds just keep blowing me back and I didn't bring any warm clothing. I really wanted to make it to the top, but it's not worth my life.
Next is the exact opposite – further west is a strange valley near an volcano. I decide to explore the valley and what I find makes me my description of 'strange' into 'nonsensical'. The reason why? I find a group of strange creatures, which have huge noses, a single hair with a red bow and really like the words 'boing' and 'zoom'. If I'm not mistaken, these are Mr Saturn! They have to be – the resemblance to the ones in 'Earthbound' is too uncanny for it to be mere coincidence!
So how are they alive? Assuming this great calamity actually did happen, the place where all the Mr Saturn lived should be destroyed – and they should be dead. Unless, some lived here naturally – but that seems like quite the coincidence. The valley is familiar to the other Saturn Valley, but not exactly the same – the volcano is the biggest difference, along with a lack of a Sanctuary.
I ask for their names and they say they don't have any… except for Mr Saturn. So they're definitely the same creatures then.
These creatures are oddly nice (literally, as they're kind in their odd way). Porky said that Mr Saturn in his time were odd creatures which were good natured but easily manipulated… I wonder what he meant by that. Actually, now that I think about, Dr Andonuts would know about the Mr Saturn as he came from the same time period. Mental note: ask him about this when I get back.
The third day, I decide to go somewhere special – Drago Plateau. The place where it all began. There's two things to note. Firstly, I officially hate trees! It's not that I don't care about the environment or nature, but these god forsaken trees tried to kill me! And here's the kicker – when I think I've got them on the ropes, they spontaneously combust into flames, and that obviously really hurts! How does a tree just explode?!
On a more serious note, it's here I see the remains of the Drago that I think attacked me. I see some blood on the ground as well as a piece of its hide. I'm not sure what to make of all this. Should I be angry for this attacking me? Or should I be happy that it unwittingly saved me?
Wait. I hear footsteps – footsteps of a human. Oh no, is this someone from the village? Okay, no time to think about that – hide! I hide behind the nearest rocks. My suspicions are correct – it is a human, and I imagine someone from the village. He's wearing clothes that makes him seem like a cowboy. He looks familiar somehow.
"… god forsaken trees…how do trees of all things explode…"
Well, it's nice to know that someone agrees with me. But more importantly, how did he get past said god forsaken trees? This guy must be really strong - I've got these enhancements after all, and I struggled to get past them. Best to stay out of his way then – besides, it wouldn't do well for someone of Tazmily to see me.
"… come back to me! Claus!"
Claus? Why… is that so… familiar? Maybe it's a kid I knew when I lived in Tazmily? Yeah, that must be it. Evidently, this Claus is missing, and this guy here is looking for him. But this place is rather dangerous – why would this man be searching here for Claus? Assuming Claus is a child, and although I don't know why, something tells me he is a child, he would have an awful lot of trouble making his way up here.
Claus… it's familiar. I feel incredibly sorry for him. Did his child run away? If so, this seems like the last place that any child would want to go.
Claus…. Claus…. Claus… why can't I… he's someone special… not to just to this man… but to me. I know it… but I can't remember.
He continues this for two hours. Two hours of searching for Claus. He certainly is determined, I'll give him that. It's heartwarming actually, to see someone from Tazmily genuinely care about another.
"…I'm an idiot, they say, you have to be dead, they say. But you're not gone. I know it. You did this all for your mother. You're out there, I'm sure, scared of returning. Please, Claus. I can't lose you! Lucas can't… Hinawa… I'm a terrible father."
He breaks down crying… he sits there weeping silently. I don't know him… not at all.
But… I feel connected to him. A bond deeper than anything I felt before.
Hinawa… Lucas… more names I don't know. But names I'm connected to nonetheless.
Family… family… he knows my pain. But his is… worse. I had the luxury of forgetting the pain my own family caused. Betrayal. But he had it worse… he had people to cherish… people who cherished him…
And it's all gone. A void of nothingness within… while everyone else lives ignorantly by, not a care in the world.
I've never realised it but for how kind everyone's been to me, there's always been something missing.
Love.
I understand why it was done, but I never got a family. I'm a child, all alone. Like Master Porky, just like Porky, I'm lost. We're both children who'll never get the guidance we need. We never received love.
"Another day gone. But I'll be back tomorrow, and the day after, searching for you, like I've always been doing. After all, there's nothing more important than family."
And the love that they give you.
I can't cry… but I want to… I want to cry… let me… let me cry!
But like before, I can't. I've got to stay strong.
Claus… whoever you are… you're a lucky child. Please, return to those who love you.
Once the man leaves, I decide to finally come out of hiding and go back home.
Despite all I've heard, I suppose there is some good in Tazmily after all.
While I do so, I decide to go higher than I usually do, so I can see all the Nowhere Islands. It's beautiful. I can see the snowy mountain I tried to climb, the strange valley where the Mr Saturn live and the construction of the Thunder Tower. I can even see a sunflower field that looks really peaceful. But most interestingly of all, when this high, the island looks like a creature… a dragon?
It can't be coincidence that this island is shaped like a dragon, can it? It's the only island left on the world and it forms a dragon? The mystery grows deeper…
I head to Chimera Laboratory again and go to see Dr Andonuts, apparently working on some sort of construction chimera, based off a gorilla.
I head to his room and enter, after knocking of course.
Sure enough, the room he's in has a gorilla with armour and a large steel ball that I imagine would be very effective at pummelling things. If you ask me, this construction chimera looks more like a destruction chimera!
"Dr Andonuts, it's good to see you again. Is this the construction chimera I've heard about?"
"Quite the opposite. Part of this Laboratory isn't quite up to scratch, so we need to replace it. This chimera here will be responsible for 'clearing the area, shall we say."
"Which is a fancy way of saying turning it into rubble."
"Indeed. I suppose you're here for a check up?"
The check up goes smoothly. Everything is working perfectly fine and I get some more fuel, but that's not what I came in for. Afterwards, I begin my interrogation.
"Dr Andonuts, you've worked on many creatures, haven't you?"
"I have, although I can't say I've enjoyed it all."
"Have you ever heard of, or come across a group of creatures known as the Mr Saturn?"
His eyes immediately widen to the size of a… I'm not good at analogies at all actually, but point is, he knows exactly who they are, and very well by the look of things.
"How… how do you know them?"
"You first."
"Very well. In my time, the Mr Saturn lived in a very remote area, known as the Saturn Valley. Peculiar creatures to say the least, but their technological prowess cannot be understated. It was thanks to them that I was able to realise time travel. With further help from them, I might have even perfected it. Frankly, I must wonder if they even come from this planet. But this island is the only thing left so I suppose they must all be extinct. Which brings me to my question, how do you know about them? How do you know that I know about them?"
Yes, his description of the Mr Saturn lines up with mine – although I wasn't aware that they were so smart. Now I think about, their 'houses' were like the pig shaped pods the Pigmasks use for transport. I wonder if their houses serve as transportation then. Dr Andonuts isn't lying, at least I don't think, so I suppose I'll give the same honesty.
"My answer to both questions is actually rather simple: Earthbound."
"Ah. That wretched movie. I sincerely wish the king would stop playing but I suppose… never mind."
"Do you not like it because it isn't true?"
"You might say that."
Once again, he's become defensive. Time for a different angle.
"Actually, the reason I ask you all of this is because I'm confused."
"Hm? Confused about what?"
"How far into the future have you gone?"
"I can't be sure, but this is the only piece of land I hear, so it must have been thousands of years from where I have come."
"Exactly. So considering this is the last piece of land left, considering many creatures undoubtedly being killed when the supposed cataclysm happened, despite all of that, I think you'll understand my confusion that even though the Mr Saturn were located in only one area, they are still alive."
"How can that be?!"
"Your guess is as good as mine. The Mr Saturn are alive, in a valley rather similar to their old one near a the coincidence, wouldn't you say?"
"A volcano you say… there's only one on the island, Fire Mountain. So that's where they are. Still, it's hard to believe. They surely would have been killed."
"They should have. Is it possible they migrated?"
"Their houses. It's possible they may actually be spaceships and so they could use those. This is assuming a lot though. This calamity that is spoke of is rather unclear. No one on the island knows what it is, or how it happened. We don't even know if it actually happened."
"It must have. You and Master Porky both come from a time where places that once existed no longer do now. Onett, Twoson, Threed, Fourside, Summers, Winters. Scaraba, Daleem. Are any of these familiar?"
"All of them, and I don't think I need to ask how you found out. Yes, you make a very convincing point. Something happened, yet no one can remember. No one knows."
"You couldn't forget something like the end of the world though. Not by simply forgetting it anyway."
"We don't know how far into the future I am though. For instance, we could be 10,000 years into the future, and the cataclysm happened 9,000 years ago. The records and memories of such an event could be forever lost to time."
"If we were that far into the future, wouldn't things be more advanced?"
"It's possible to go backwards. This calamity caused only a minuscule percentage of people to be left, and after something like that, wouldn't you want to revert to something simpler? Even if that weren't the case, resources would be limited on an island, even though it is a rather large one. Developing anything would be rather difficult. Still, we have no way of knowing when the calamity happened so none of this really matters. Time is, as always, our enemy."
"So why not manipulate it?"
"What?"
"You can time travel. Find the cataclysm."
"It's not that simple though. Again, we don't know how long ago this cataclysm happened. Trying to find the date, is like trying to look for one specific flower in a sunflower field. Secondly, my time travel is not perfect. I called my device the Phase Distorter, because it can distort you rather severely. Only inorganic things can survive the time travel. Anything living…let's not go down that road."
"What if I were to do it. I have this machinery, I could survive!"
"Oh no, you most certainly wouldn't. Your machinery would – you are very much living though. Only a robot could survive it."
"Why not use one of those then?"
"In all honestly, I'd never considered the idea of using time travel to pinpoint the calamity. But firstly, I don't have access to a Phase Distorter. And even if I did, there's still the issue with finding the exact date. I'm sorry to say it, but it's a lost cause."
Just when I thought I could get some answers, reality has to get in the way. Maybe not knowing is for the best though.
"I suppose you're right. Thank you for your time either way."
"You're welcome. And thank you."
"For what?"
"For the memories."
"I never showed you any proof that I was telling the truth."
"No, and perhaps this is illogical, but I believe you. Life often has a strange way of linking things together."
The next 3 days are spent digesting the contents of my psychic guide, also known as my book. I wouldn't mind a psychic guide now though given all the strange things I've found out.
Either way, it's a rather interesting experience, reading in solitude. There's a hot spring near the Chimera Laboratory, which always makes me feel relaxed and refreshed. Reading there alone always fills me with a certain sense of calm.
I don't know why exactly, but the peace of nature often makes me wonder about the people of Tazmily.
They must have this peace, every day, because they didn't accept technology. This peace they feel… perhaps I'm thinking too much about it, but perhaps they knew. Technology has its advantages for us – after all, I wouldn't be alive it weren't for it.
Yet, it can't replicate some things. I was given a life and deprived one at the same time. Did they know? Are they fearful that their lives would be changed by technology? Perhaps they may see reason… but should they?
It doesn't matter. Whether they chose to accept technology or not, it can't excuse their actions. To hurt people like that… one day, they'll pay. The only question is when.
My studies on PSI have yielded some interesting discoveries. For instance, PK Thunder ignores any sort of shields or counters one may put in place, which explains why the colonel's shielding device failed to protect us against Mr Genator. I'll have to remember that for future battles.
In general, the subject that interests me most is regarding the more powerful pieces of PSI. PK Starstorm is described as being incredibly powerful and the movie gave me a good indication of its destructive capabilities, which only makes me curious – how does someone manifest such a power with just their mind? Every time I use my powers, there's a strain of sorts. Something pulling on my mind almost. It's gentle now, but I imagine it would be more severe with more powerful PSI. Wouldn't something as powerful as calling down fragments of stars destroy your mind?
The other point of interest is the elusive and potentially mythical PK Love, a psychic attack fuelled by the namesake of the attack. The reason it interests me, is because there's absolutely no information on it. The book states that no one has been recorded to use it and that only 'the chosen ones' can use it – and psychics themselves are already chosen ones.
Love… love… it all comes back to that. The emotion that governs us all and dictates our every move. That man searching for his child… love. But can I love? I have no one to love. Although I'd like to consider Master Porky a brother of sorts, I'm sure he doesn't see me as the same. He's been kind and generous, but he has no reason to see me as more than another subject.
He wanted me to become the Commander though. Me, the child who was found a few months ago, rather than any of the members of his army. I don't think the Pigmasks even had a Commander though, although I suppose Fassad would come close. Still, I get the implication that Master Porky doesn't trust Fassad – in fact, none of the Pigmasks like him. They mostly just tolerate him, because of… actually, why do they tolerate him?
See, Fassad's always been rather creepy and boastful about his power, although to be fair, he is a powerful psychic. I suppose he's useful enough to justify him having a role of power but Porky's been looking for an opportunity to have him replaced.
Still, surely there are better choices than an child who was recently found. The Fierce Pork Trooper comes to mind - he's strong, respected by many, and he's been in the Pigmask Army for approximately 5 years, according to some of the Pigmasks.
I am none of those of things. Yet I am to be the Commander. Master Porky said I have a power unlike anyone else – but what is that power? What could I have that no one else could?
He's putting so much faith in me.
So perhaps he does care about me… right?
Another day of reading and musing goes by and once again I go to the barracks to retire for the day. Tomorrow, I return to my training.
Everything goes black, as it usually does when I shut my systems down to rest. However, unlike all the other times I've done this, I maintain consciousness. I think. It's like I'm floating in space. I feel alive, and yet very much dead at the same time.
Until it hits me – this is a dream. My first dream. I'll admit, floating in space isn't the most exciting thing my brain could come up with, but I'll take what I can get. It's strange though… I can hear voices. They're all jumbled together so it's hard to make sense of any of it. All sorts of different words, 'you', 'find', 'alone', 'lost', float around in a haze. But the one word that persists throughout is 'waiting'.
In the darkness, all that I can do is focus on the voices one by one… slowly, they start combine together, into one coordinated voice, the voice of a young boy. A voice that feels so… familiar.
'I'm waiting for you. One day, I'll find you. You'll find me. We'll find each other. Wherever you are, I'll be waiting for you.'
'After all, haven't I waited for you before? When we got caught up in an argument over who was better at climbing, you left into the forest. I waited for you then. When you couldn't swim as well as me, so I never swam in the ocean until you learned, because I wanted to share the experience with you! I waited for you then. When you left to avenge Mom, and told me to stay behind. I waited for you then.'
'But that time you never came back. Why didn't you let me come with you? You've always tried to protect me. But you couldn't protect yourself.'
'I should have come with you! I could have done something! Maybe I could have taken a hit or distracted it or… I was too scared. I should have come with you. You gave me a chance to run, and I took it. Dad says it was the right thing, but I know I was too hasty in my decision.'
'You'll…You'll forgive your hasty brother, won't you?'
'Of course not. I wouldn't blame you at all. I'm useless compared to you. Just a coddled crybaby. But I'm gonna change. I want to be strong, like you. When I find you, I'll be different.'
'I know I'll find you. It doesn't matter what everyone says to me. They say you'll never come back just like Mom. But that isn't true… is it? Are you truly gone?'
'No. We never found you. Dad keeps looking for you each and everyday. I wish I could join him. Most of the time, I'm all alone.'
'Please come back. Return to those who love you. I'm all alone… I've lost my mother… I may as well not have a father… and if you go, I've lost my brother... I'll have lost my family.'
'I always wait for you. I've always waited for you. And I'll always keep waiting for you.'
'I'll never stop waiting for you.'
A/N: First update for the New Year! Yay! Man, I started this in 2019 and now it's 2020 - so does that mean I've writing this for over a year?
All time jokes aside, I've always been interested in the idea of the Nowhere Islands being the only place left - it's a shame that the game didn't really do much more with it.
Also, also, having watched the new Star Wars movie, I just realised the number of similarities between Darth Vader and Claus. Let's list them off:
1. They're both characters who are related to the main protagonist and are considered dead.
2. Both of them end up becoming evil due to the death of a loved one (okay, Padme wasn't dead at the time, but she was going to die, and we all know she was doomed by canon).
3. They both are cyborgs and wield a sword - like weapon (Vader has a lightsaber, Claus has his thunder sword).
4. They both have powers related to the mind (the Force and Psychokinesis).
5. Both of them are redeemed due to their love and are killed by lightning, and at the very end of the third instalment of a series.
So yeah. Next time, Claus returns to his training and gets to hang out with the Pigmasks at a certain event. Tonda Gossa!