It's been a few months since my anniversary and the concert at Club Titiboo - I don't have the best grasp of time but I think it's been a year and 4 months since I was resurrected and given my enhancements. My training is pretty much the same as usual - beat up Pigmasks, shoot things with my arm cannon and practice using PK Thunder - recently I've been trying to develop a different variation of PK Thunder.
Normally, I strike with lightning from the sky, and while it's certainly effective, the accuracy is a bit of an issue. I've been getting better, but I would prefer something more consistent. Hence, I have developed a variant which has me discharge the electricity in one quick beam. There's a trade off - it doesn't seem to be as powerful as the regular variation of PK Thunder. There's always a downside to every alternative, isn't there? Power over accuracy, speed over defence and being brought back as a cyborg or dying.
That last one may be too specific though.
Some interesting things have happened though: the most noticeable being my new living space. Pork...Master Porky, has kindly given me an area in the Empire Porky Building to make my own, so I'm going there now. It's a bittersweet moment in a way: I'm moving to an area to make new memories, but at the same time, I'm leaving the place I lived over a year. The place I have so many memories of. The place with my... friends.
But I'm still going to train with them thankfully. So, it's not farewell. It's just... moving on.
This afternoon, I'm taking one of those pig-shaped pods - apparently they do have a name, Porkships, named so to stick with the pig theme. Soon enough, I'm at New Pork City, and I get to enter the Empire Porky Building. I make my way to the 98th floor - where I'm supposed to have my own living quarters apparently. The idea is I'll be close to Master Porky, so I'll be able to reach him at a moment's notice, a reasonable enough suggestion.
It's a fairly simple trip, although I get some nostalgia when I pass the 57th floor - it's the one where I assisted with the construction of Mr Genator and Lil' Miss
Marshmallow.
With that, I quickly reach the 98th floor... which consists of a corridor with three doors - one on the left and right wall and a larger one on the wall opposite the elevator. And literally nothing else. It's spacious at least...
I head to the central door, since its size seems to indicate that someone important resides there - like Master Porky. I give a perfunctory knock and wait. No one answers. I try knocking again, but there's still no answer. The door is locked so I can't just simply enter. I can't just break down the door either, as I can tell it's made of an incredibly durable material. Not to mention, it would be rude. Now what?
"HIS HIGHNESS IS NOT HERE AT THE MOMENT, COMMANDER."
That voice... I pivot around, and as I thought, there is Lil' Miss Marshmallow. Or to me, Miss Marsh.
"Lil' Miss Marshmallow, I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you were supposed to be at the Thunder Tower. To guard Master Porky's room?"
"THAT IS CORRECT. HOWEVER, THE ROOM YOU SPEAK OF HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED YET. THEREFORE, HIS HIGHNESS HAS GIVEN ME ORDERS TO BE HERE, SO I MAY ASSIST HIM IN HIS VARIOUS NEEDS. HIS HIGHNESS SENDS HIS REGRETS THAT HE COULD NOT BE HERE TO WELCOME YOU TO YOUR NEW RESIDENCE, HOWEVER HE IS CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN A MEETING WITH FASSAD."
A meeting with Fassad? What could it be about?
"What is this meeting about then?"
"I DO NOT KNOW. EVEN IF I DID SUCH INFORMATION WOULD BE CONFIDENTIAL, AND I WOULD LIKELY BE GIVEN ORDERS TO KEEP THAT INFORMATION SECRET."
"Even from me?"
"YES, EVEN FROM YOU, COMMANDER."
Interesting. In truth, I'm not really offended at the fact that Master Porky doesn't trust me with the contents of the meeting - the fact that I was told about the meeting shows he has a great deal of trust in me. Nevertheless, I can't help but be curious as to what this meeting is about. Maybe Fassad is being fired? That'd be nice.
"IN HIS ABSENCE, I AM HERE TO GIVE YOU A TOUR OF THE AREA. THIS ROOM AS YOU HAVE MOST LIKELY FIGURED OUT, IS HIS HIGHNESS'S THRONE ROOM. NO ONE IS ALLOWED IN HERE WITHOUT HIS PERMISSION. THE DOOR IS LOCKED, WITH THE ONLY KEY BELONGING TO HIS HIGHNESS."
"What exactly is inside the throne room?"
"MACHINERY REQUIRED TO SUSTAIN HIMSELF, AS WELL AS A VIDEO SCREEN HE USES TO COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE."
"So is he in there right now? Speaking to Fassad?"
"NO. WHILE HIS HIGHNESS DOES COMMUNICATE TO PEOPLE BY VIDEO, HE LIKES TO, IN HIS WORDS, 'SHAKE THINGS UP'. I ASSUME BY THIS HE MEANS THAT HE PREFERS SOME VARIETY IN HOW HE COMMUNICATES TO PEOPLE, BY SPEAKING TO THEM IN PERSON. ALTERNATIVELY, HIS HIGHNESS MAY WISH TO MEET FASSAD IN PERSON, OUT OF FEAR OF THE MEETING BEING INTERCEPTED BY THE ENEMY, IF IT WERE DONE BY VIDEO."
"But the people of Tazmily have limited technical prowess in comparison to us? Surely the chances of a meeting being intercepted are minimal, seeing as they would need to know the time of the meeting and have some way of intercepting this message?"
"INDEED. HOWEVER, HIS HIGHNESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY PARANOID FOR REASONS THAT NO ONE MAY EVER KNOW. LET US MOVE ON. FOLLOW ME."
She moves to the door on the right wall before stopping and opening it, before the two of us move in.
"THIS, COMMANDER, IS YOUR ROOM. THE DOOR AT THE BACK LEADS TO A BATHROOM."
The room is a fairly modest one and there isn't very much in there. There's a bed for me to rest on, I assume, as well as an Instant Revitalising Device for me to recharge myself. There's a video screen as well, for communication I assume as well as a table and some shelves. Finally, the door Miss Marsh referred to which leads to the bathroom. Not much - but it is a place to call my own. I place the few things I have on the table – the books I've borrowed, my stick and some food.
It's here I notice that there's some machinery near the corner that looks as if it's meant to recharge something – but I don't really see the point of it, since the Instant Revitalising Device is more than sufficient to recharge me.
"The machines in the corner... what exactly is their purpose?"
"THEY ARE FOR ME. I AM REQUIRED TO USE THESE TO RECHARGE EVERY NIGHT."
"So, you would be here, with me, every night?"
"YES."
Oh. Okay. Wait, what? The two of us alone... every night... here. Alone. In my room. Alone. Why... why does this bother me?
"COMMANDER. YOUR HEART RATE HAS ELEVATED FROM 50 BEATS PER MINUTE TO 100 AND IS STILL RISING. I SUGGEST TAKING IN DEEP BREATHS."
Oh Pork, what is this? Wait. Okay. No, wait. Oh. Why... why do we share a room? And... and... why does she have a heart monitor installed in her? Okay, deep breathes. Deep breaths. Deeeep breeaaaths. Okay. Yeah. I'm okay.
"Why do you have a heart monitor?"
"AN ELEVATED HEART RATE MAY SIGNIFIES DISTRESSED EMOTIONS. HOWEVER, IT IS ALSO A SYMPTOM ASSOCIATED WITH THE EARLY STAGES OF HEART FAILURE. I AM REQUIRED TO MONITOR YOUR HEALTH AND CARE FOR YOU UNDER THE ORDERS I HAVE BEEN GIVEN, BY MONITORING YOUR CONDITION. AH. YOUR HEART RATE IS RETURNING BACK TO ITS NORMAL RANGE. GOOD."
Okay. Okay, good. Good. What was that? Never mind, let's just continue.
"THERE IS ONE MORE THING. HIS HIGHNESS HAS GIVEN YOU A... HOUSEWARMING GIFT, SO TO SPEAK. IT IS ON YOUR BED."
A gift? She's right, there's a present on my bed. When I open it, there's a stick inside that looks golden. There's also a note - it's a bit hard to read but I manage.
Hey, friend! I'm sure Marshmallow's already told you by the time you've read this, but I won't be able to see you today. It's a shame, I wanted to go to the arcade with you to celebrate. Unfortunately, I've gotta be a king.
You've been doing well so far, I hear, so here's a little present to help you forward. This is the best stick we could get you - I call it a Master Stick, cause I'm Master Porky! Good luck in all your training.
Master Porky
The stick feels like the perfect weight in my hand. It invokes some tense emotions in me... This was so kind of Master Porky! I really must thank him properly for this when I see him next!
"IS THE STICK TO YOUR SATISFACTION, COMMANDER?"
"Yes, it's very well made and a very nice gift for Master Porky to give me."
"HIS HIGHNESS DOES HAVE A KIND SIDE. ARE YOU READY TO MOVE ON?
"Yes."
"VERY LAST ROOM TO SHOW YOU IS THIS ONE."
She moves to the one opposite my room... or would it be our room? No, you know what, just my room. My room.
When we enter, it's pitch black and I can't see a thing.
"AH, YES. LET ME ACTIVATE MY LIGHTS."
I don't know what she means by that, but I find out very quickly – her eyes start glowing brightly, allowing me to see a little."
"FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, THE SWITCH IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM. HERE, I SHALL SHOW YOU."
Before I have a say in the matter, she takes my hand and leads me across the room. Despite being made of metal, her hand feels somewhat soft. It's warm as well. It's... pleasant, in a way. Not at all uncomfortable. It's actually... rather nice. When we reach the other side, she flicks the switch and the room lights up. I can see pots, pans, cupboards, a stove, an oven and a fridge.
"So this is the kitchen then?"
"INDEED. AND THE ROOM BACK THERE." She points to a door near the lights, "LEADS TO THE STORAGE ROOM. THIS CONCLUDES THE TOUR OF YOUR LIVING AREA, WHICH MEANS WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT THING. YOUR LESSON."
My what?! My lesson?! Where did this come from?!
"My lesson? I don't quite follow."
"I SHALL EXPLAIN THEN. I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING FOOD FOR HIS HIGHNESS. HE DOES NOT TRUST ANYONE ELSE TO MAKE FOOD FOR HIM, OUT OF FEAR THAT THEY MAY ATTEMPT TO POISON HIS FOOD, HENCE WHY HE ONLY TRUSTS SOMETHING HE HAS PROGRAMMED TO NOT DISOBEY HIM."
"I see, but what does this have to do with me having a lesson?"
"AS YOU KNOW, I AM TO BE STATIONED AT THUNDER TOWER, WHERE I WILL GUARD HIS HIGHNESS'S ROOM. BUT THEN THERE WILL BE NO ONE TO MAKE FOOD FOR HIM AND HE NEEDS A REPLACEMENT HE CAN TRUST. HE BELIEVES YOU ARE THE MOST TRUSTWORTHY PERSON HERE."
Really? That's really nice to hear! Master Porky trusts me that much... I can't let him down then!
"HOWEVER, IT IS LIKELY THAT YOUR COOKING SKILLS ARE NOT COMPARABLE TO YOUR COMBAT SKILLS AT ALL. HENCE, I WILL BE TEACHING YOU HOW TO COOK THE DISHES HIS HIGHNESS IS MOST FOND OF."
Ouch. That hurts. She's right though – I wouldn't know the first thing about how to cook anything. I'd probably do something stupid like disintegrate the ingredients or burn some water!
"SO SHALL WE START THEN?"
"No time like the present. What are we starting with?"
"WE WILL START WITH TROUT YOGURT. IT IS A FAIRLY SIMPLE SNACK THAT HIS HIGHNESS LIKES TO HAVE ON OCCASION. TODAY, HE WISHES TO HAVE IT AS A STARTER FOR HIS DINNER."
Trout yogurt? Isn't trout a kind of fish? I can't imagine that would taste very nice, but, each to their own.
"So then, how exactly would we go about doing this?"
"THERE IS A COOKBOOK ON THAT SHELF, WITH ALL OF HIS HIGHNESS'S FAVOURITE RECIPES."
She points to one particular book – it has a rather stylish cover on it. It's rather high though so I initially decide to use a stepladder, but halfway through, I feel an odd... desire, to be stylish, if you will, so I use my wings to fly up and grab it.
On the cover are a number of pictures of different kinds of food – noodles, dumplings, cakes, pizza. They all look really nice – it's starting to whet my appetite!
"So, 'Mother's Cookbook'. This is the one then?"
"INDEED. PAGE 63 HAS THE RECIPE FOR THE TROUT YOGURT."
I flick over to that page, and sure enough, there it is. There's a picture of the yogurt and it doesn't look too bad actually. It says the recipe came from... Fourside? I suppose it makes sense that Master Porky would prefer food from his own time. But how old must this book be then? To survive for all this time? According to this, it should only take 5 minutes and is apparently fairly easy to make. Still, I'm not confident that I'll still be able to make this without screwing something up though.
"The recipe says it produces 3 glasses of yogurt which I assume serves 3 people. We would need to reduce the quantity of ingredients by a factor of three then."
"NOT QUITE. HIS HIGHNESS HAS ALWAYS REQUIRED A... CONSIDERABLY LARGE AMOUNT OF ENERGY IN RELATION TO EVERYONE ELSE. FROM EXPERIENCE, I HAVE FOUND THAT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS GIVE HIM TRIPLE THE AMOUNT THAT ONE PERSON WOULD REQUIRE, SO THE QUANTITY OF INGREDIENTS GIVEN HERE IS ADEQUATE. AS THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME, I DO NOT MIND ASSISTING YOU, ALTHOUGH YOU WILL NEED TO... COMMAND ME, AS IT WERE."
I can't help but laugh at that one. I never knew she had a sense of humour.
"In which case, I will get and weigh every odd numbered ingredient on the list, if you will get and weigh every even numbered one."
The two of us starting running – well, I start running, Miss Marsh kinda just skates around, I suppose. It's a fairly simple ordeal – I simply remember an ingredient and its quantity required, deduce where the most likely location for it is, and then retrieve it. Some of the ingredients are in the storage room, but it doesn't hinder me much – my eye and my wings make quick work of finding and obtaining the required ingredients.
It's a very simple task, and yet it's oddly soothing – I quite enjoy these kinds of tasks, if only because it gives me time where I can just get lost in my own thoughts. However, doing so has its own risks – as I find out the hard way.
I start to lose focus of everything else around me, focusing only the things that will let me achieve my goal – to make the best trout yogurt for Master Porky. When I retrieve the last of my ingredients, some salt and pepper, I get a bit too lost in my goals... and end up right into a cracker - wielding Miss Marsh. The two of us go tumbling to the ground. It's a bit painful, but I'll live. There's something on top of me.
When I look up, I see a dazed Miss Marsh on top of me. Oh Pork. I try to get her off me but she's firmly on one of my arms and the other one is currently an arm cannon, so I can't quite get her off, so I just give up. And... even then... it feels somewhat... no, very nice, in a way. She feels rather soft and, and warm... a strange quality owing to what she's made off... but it... it feels comforting. Maybe... maybe it's a good thing that I can't get up. I start to put my other arm around her.
"AH. WHAT HAPPENED? AH, AH, AH, COMMANDER! ARE YOU, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? HERE, LET ME GET OFF YOU."
With that, she lifts herself up as well the ingredients we dropped. I find myself immediately missing her. I lift myself up as well.
"I apologise, Lil' Miss Marshmallow. I should have paid more attention. Are you okay?"
"I AM FINE. PLEASE DO BE MORE CAREFUL IN THE FUTURE. IN ANY CASE. LET'S START MAKING THE YOGURT. YOU'LL NEED TO SLICE THE TROUT FIRST, FOLLOWED BY DICING THE CUCUMBER, DILL AND GARLIC."
"Well, that doesn't seem too hard."
"NO. IT DOES NOT. HOWEVER, I IMAGINE THAT THIS TASK WOULD BE AN IMPOSSIBILITY FOR YOU CURRENTLY, AS CUTTING SOMETHING IS A TASK WHICH GENERALLY REQUIRES THE USE OF 2 HANDS."
My, she's gotten very snarky all of a sudden. I kinda like it. Still, she's right, so I convert my arm cannon back into a hand and start to chop away, slicing the trout into thin slices, and then dicing the other ingredients. Next then... mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Okay, this still doesn't seem too bad.
"VERY GOOD. I HAVE FOUND THAT HIS HIGHNESS LIKES THE YOGURT TO BE AS THICK AND RICH AS POSSIBLE, SO YOU NEED TO STIR THE MIXTURE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE."
As quickly as possible? Okay, no problem. I start stirring as fast as can, putting all my effort into it. Faster, faster, faster! It's getting quite thick though so it's hard to get through it. Ah, here's an idea!
Diverting power to both hands.
Woah, that's a lot! I can feel the extra energy surging though my hands. I start stirring even faster. I will make this the best snack in the world!
"COMMANDER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! SLOW DOWN!"
What? Slow down? But she said to stir as fast as I can. Why would I slow down?
In hindsight, the answer to that was a fairly obvious one when I see trout yogurt go flying out onto the bowl onto the table, the walls and even the ceiling. Huh. I'm kinda impressed I managed to get it all the way up there.
"AH! I CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO GET INTO MY PARTS! COMMANDER! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT BEING CAREFUL?!"
And I got some of the yogurt on Miss Marsh too, it would seem.
"My apologies. Although in my defence, you did say to stir it as quickly as I can. And I did."
"HMM. THAT IS TRUE. I WILL RECORD THIS IN MY MEMORY FOR THE FUTURE, SO I KNOW THAT I MUST GIVE YOU MORE PRECISE INSTRUCTION WITH A REDUCED MARGIN FOR MISINTERPRETATION. I APOLOGISE FOR MAKING THIS MISTAKE. I HOPE THIS HAS NOT NEGATIVELY IMPACTED YOUR OPINION OF MY ABILITIES."
"You are... you're far too... kind. I... I must apologise as well. I've... I've never cooked anything before, ever, and if you weren't there, if I didn't have your help and guidance, I probably would have done something like set some water on fire."
"I DON'T THINK SUCH A THING IS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE, COMMANDER."
"Trust me, I'd have found a way. Here, let me help you."
I get some tissues and gently start scraping the yogurt off of her. It's sticky, thick, and a pale white, so I think I got the consistency of the yogurt right, even if I over did it.
"THANK YOU... COMMANDER. I... I BELIEVE YOU ARE BEING TOO... HARSH ON YOURSELF. AND PERHAPS... I WAS BEING TOO HARSH AS WELL. I WOULD SAY YOUR COOKING SKILLS ARE MORE THAN ADEQUATE FOR HIS HIGHNESS'S STANDARDS. PERHAPS, A LITTLE LESS... ENTHUSIASM IS NEEDED THOUGH. I SHALL CLEAN THE ROOM FIRST."
She takes the tissues from me and zips around the room cleaning everything. She's very quick – she even manages to clean the ceiling, using her claw. Soon, she's cleaned the entire room.
"AH! HOW DID I MISS THIS? YOU HAVE SOME YOGURT ON YOUR SHIRT! LET ME CLEAN IT."
What? Oh yes, she's right.
"It's fine, I can clean it myself."
"I INSIST, COMMANDER."
She starts scrubbing my shirt vigorously. Hey, that tickles!
"Ah! Stop it! That tickles!"
"I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU ARE CLEAN, COMMANDER."
I try to get away from her and while I'm initially successful, she simply uses her claw to prevent me from escaping.
"No, really, please stop! Stop it, Miss Marsh!" I laugh.
"MISS MARSH? WHO ARE YOU REFERRING TO?"
Oh Pork. I just said that out loud, didn't I?
"It's... it's my nickname. For you. Your name is a bit long to say so... I came up with something shorter to say."
"MISS... MARSH... AN INTERESTING NAME... I HAVE BEEN GIVEN ORDERS BY HIS HIGHNESS TO OBEY YOUR COMMANDS UNLESS THEY WOULD NEGATIVELY AFFECT THE PIGMASK ARMY."
She seems deep in thought.
"IF YOU WOULD LIKE... I CAN STORE THIS NAME IN MY MEMORY BANKS AND... IN FUTURE, I WILL RESPOND TO YOU... WHEN YOU USE THIS NAME."
"Really? I would, I'd like that... a lot."
"UNDERSTOOD. I WILL STORE THIS THEN. I WILL RESPOND TO THE NAME 'MISS MARSH' WHEN USED BY YOU. SO... LET'S TRY MAKING THIS AGAIN."
"Let's... Miss Marsh."
Once again, we gather the ingredients, and I chop up all the ingredients before mixing them up, this time with less power and better results – which in this case means a greater proportion of the yogurt made actually stays in the bowl rather than being out of it. Soon it's done and we pour the yogurt into a large glass.
"THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH. AS IT HAPPENS, THERE'S A BIT OF EXCESS YOGURT. WHY DON'T YOU HAVE SOME?"
Why not? I worked hard to make this. I take a spoonful of yogurt and a cracker before eating it. It's... interesting. It's not bad, but it tastes like something only fancy people would enjoy. It's... an acquired taste.
"I'm not the biggest fan of it personally, but I hope Master Porky likes it."
Actually, Master Porky, being a king would appear to fit into the category of a person who would enjoy this, but he's also a child, so you could also make a case for the other side as well.
"I'M SURE HE WILL. I THINK YOU'VE DONE VERY WELL, COMMANDER."
"Thank you... Miss Marsh."
"IT IS GETTING LATE. I WILL NEED TO MAKE A MAIN COURSE FOR HIS HIGHNESS – HE HAS REQUESTED SOME STEAK FOR HIS MAIN DISH AND SOME PINK CLOUD COTTON CANDY FOR DESSERT. HOWEVER, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WOULD ALSO REQUIRE SOMETHING TO EAT. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING IN MIND?"
Firstly, Pink Cloud Cotton Candy? As in the Sanctuary? But I thought the Sanctuaries didn't exist? Or maybe it's just the name - cotton candy does bear a striking resemblance to Pink Cloud.
Secondly, something for dinner. Well, I like steak, maybe I'll just have some as well. But then again... I didn't quite like it the last time... maybe I should have something different. But what...
"What is this? I've never seen this before."
"Don't be like that. Your mother put a lot of effort to make this."
"What is it though?"
"It's my favourite food. I made it for your dad once and he loved it as well!"
"Miss Marsh... have you ever heard of... an... an omelet?"
"I HAVE. IT IS GENERALLY A MEAL MOST PEOPLE PREFER TO HAVE FOR BREAKFAST, HOWEVER, IF IT WHAT YOU WANT... I WILL GLADLY MAKE IT FOR YOU."
"Do you require any assistance?"
"I BELIEVE YOU HAVE DONE ENOUGH FOR TODAY, COMMANDER. BESIDES, I THINK IT WOULD BE BEST IF WE DO NOT FIND OUT WHETHER IT IS POSSIBLE TO SET AN EGG ON FIRE – IF ONLY BECAUSE I'M FAIRLY SURE THAT IF YOU SUCCEED IN THIS TASK, YOU WOULD HAVE ALSO LIKELY SUCCEEDED IN SETTING EVERYTHING ON FIRE. ALTHOUGH, I COULD USE A FRYING PAN."
Okay, yeah, I really do like her snarky side. She's snarky, fun, interesting, a good teacher and most of all, nice. Really nice...
I get her a frying pan - a Chef's Fry Pan seems like it makes the most sense here. It's quite heavy as well - despite the seemingly impractical nature of one as a weapon, it would certainly hurt if you whacked someone with it. Perhaps Miss Polestar really did have a good idea with these...
Miss Marsh starts off by getting two eggs, whisking them, adding some butter to the frying pan and then heating it up. She adds the eggs and starts mixing them slowly.
"COMMANDER, WOULD YOU LIKE ANYTHING ON YOUR OMELET?"
Anything on my omelet? I can't really think of anything in particular...
"Are those...?"
"Yep. I thought you'd like them. And I put some cheese in yours, Lucas."
"May I have some... mushrooms then?"
"OF COURSE."
She adds some mushrooms and continues stirring. Soon, the eggs take a more solid form and the mushrooms become embedded into them. It looks and smells really nice!
"HERE YOU ARE, COMMANDER. I... HOPE YOU ENJOY IT."
"Thank you."
I get myself a fork. I can't wait so eat and yet... I can't help but feel apprehensive about this. I really want to like it... because Miss Marsh made it... for me.
I take a bite and... it's quite hot, it almost burns my tongue. It's a little too spicy as well from the pepper...
"I'm not sure... how do I know if it'll taste good?"
"You have to try it."
Overall, it doesn't leave the best taste initially.
"Can't I just have some cereal?"
"Try it once. If you don't like it, you don't have to finish it. Your brother's trying it."
"No. I don't want it!"
"Wait. Does that mean that I can do something that you can't then?"
But I must finish it – if only for Miss Marsh. I wouldn't want to hurt her feelings... assuming robots have feelings. Okay, well, ignoring that, I still can't waste food, so I take some more bites.
"What?"
"I can eat these omelets and you can't!"
"Hey! Fine, I'll show you! I bet I can eat my omelet faster than you can!"
"You're on!"
But this time, it tastes different... at first it doesn't seem to have a taste. But then the flavours hit me.
"So, how does it taste?"
"It's...
The spice of the pepper, the fluffiness of the eggs and the tenderness of the mushrooms... they're... they're...
"It's... it's wonderful! I suppose... I was wrong."
"You, admitting that you were wrong?"
"Oh, shut up, Lucas!"
"Hey, be nice to your brother! But it's good to see another two join my side! 'Nut cookies are better', my foot...'
It's nice... no... it's like Miss Marsh... it's really nice. I really like steak... but this... it's so much better. Because it tastes like...
"I think... this may be my favourite food."
"Mine too!"
Love.
With a great deal of effort, I reluctantly finish eating my last bite of the omelet and wash my plate.
"Thank you, Miss Marsh. It was really good. I need to learn how to how make this."
"I'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO TEACH YOU ONE DAY, COMMANDER."
"I... I'd like that. I think... I should be going to bed. I hope Master Porky enjoys his meal. Don't stay up too late, okay?"
"IT IS MY PURPOSE, COMMANDER. BUT... I SHALL TRY NOT TO."
I start leaving but... I turn back and... I give Miss Marsh a hug.
"Thank you... for everything today. Good night, Miss Marsh."
"... GOOD NIGHT, COMMANDER."
With that, I take my leave and head to my... well no... it is... it's also her room, isn't it?
I enter our room and after this long day, lie down and feel the sweet embrace of sleep.
For the first time I can remember, I have nothing but sweet dreams.
(Where... am I?)
(And... what happened?)
A/N: So to start things off, I need to apologise for the last chapter - specifically its length, which may have deterred some people from reading this. If that was the case then, I apologise and thank you for continuing to read this. The chapters were already getting pretty long but Chapter 10 took it to the extreme. So I'm going to try and keep the chapters about this length. I'll say this though: don't expect these notes to get shorter because I love to ramble. Probably don't qualify as notes then any more...
So then, this chapter almost wasn't going to be a thing - what will be Chapter 12 would have been here instead. The reason I ended up shifting things was because of the pairing in this chapter: Claus/Masked Man and Lil' Miss Marshmallow - something which I only found out was a thing about a week ago, from TerraChaos83's Earthbound: React To Ships over on Wattpad (definitely worth reading).
When I first read about Claus/Marshmallow, I was tempted to put it my extensive list of Earthbound ships that fall under 'why is this a thing?' (Eg. Lucas/Porky. WHY IS THIS A THING?).
But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made and so yeah, I thought a cooking lesson with Marshmallow combined with some awkward cyborg/robot romance was sure to work. So, did it?
Still, it gave me practice writing romance for the Mother Series which I'll need for the inevitable Naula fic I'll do... someday. It also gave me a convenient way to introduce omelets to Claus.
For those of you who don't like this ship for whatever reason, it's not gonna be hardcore or anything like that (it's kinda of just an implied thing here), nor will this be the focus of the fic as Marshmallow will still be meeting her end at the same point she does in Mother 3 - I just really wanted this ship to get some PK Love (yeah, that was lame).
By the way, 'Mother's Cookbook' and the recipe for trout yogurt - yeah, that's actually a thing. Some dedicated fans actually went out of their way to make a cookbook with recipes for food from the Mother Trilogy, called Mother's Cookbook (Pink Cloud Cotton Candy I've heard is another recipe). It's done beautifully and I'm getting a copy of it along with a fan made handbook of Earthbound and Mother 3 for my birthday! If you're a fan of the trilogy, I seriously recommend you get these, they have all been done with so much passion and have lots of detail!
Next time, Claus gets a taste of the battlefield.