Since my accession to Commander, a few months have passed, and now, I've been here for just over three years. Very little has happened over that time — I've continued my training, though it's been a little different.
I've finally obtained my dream weapon — a sword. But a sword requires a lot of practice to use safely, so I've had to adjust to using one instead of a stick. The power... it feels so much greater than anything I've ever had. I can slice through things with little effort.
The sword has another interesting property which Dr Andonuts informed me about. There's a generator in it which can discharge electricity, making it a sort of taser. But the interesting thing is... I've noticed that it can amplify my own electricity — the kind I use with PK Thunder.
It's been very difficult, but over this time, I've learned to channel the electricity in the sword to enhance my PSI.
But even more interesting is using that in reverse — using my own electric powers to enhance the sword. By combining the power of PK Thunder with the generator, I can increase the discharge of electricity, and control it to some extent.
It reminded of those batteries I encountered during my first visit of the Thunder Tower with Miss Marsh — they had this way of discharging electricity in arching bolts as well.
I was inspired by that, and I've tried to do the same, using my sword, but it still needs some work. Nevertheless, all my repeated experiments with lightning have led to one nice thing — the realisation of the next level of PK Thunder.
But... something more interesting is happening today. My first mission.
I've had some unofficial ones, such as escorting Miss Marsh through the Death Desert and that mission to Tazmily, but this? This will be my first proper mission.
Heading into the elevator, I click the button for the 48th floor — that's where debriefings are done for important missions apparently. The ride is a quick one, and when I reach there, I step out. It's just a corridor with a door... I suppose it only makes sense to go inside.
"Sir!"
When I enter, everyone's heads turn to see who just entered, and upon seeing me, they all stand up and salute me.
There's quite a large number of them — and not a single one below the rank of Captain either.
"At ease."
I was expecting to see my regiment here, and I believe they are — mind you, I can't exactly tell them each apart, because I can't see their faces, but I'm sure they're here. I've learned to recognise them by voice.
However, there's more than just 15 Pigmasks, so some of these must be ones outside of my regiment.
In fact, I notice there's a colonel here... could that be?
"Well, fancy meeting you here, Commander." she says. Oh wow, it is her!
"Colonel, a pleasant surprise to see you again. I take it you've been put on this mission then?"
"Yep, I'm here as your second in command. Looks like I was right about working with you after all."
"Well, I'm glad to have you onboard." I actually am as well — though I try not to show it, I am nervous about this first mission, and though I might not know her as well as I do the members of my own regiment, I have had a number of conversations with her over the course of all my visits to the Thunder Tower, so I feel relatively assured about her skill as a colonel.
"So, is everyone on this mission here yet?"
"Not yet. We're still waiting for a few stragglers from my regiment and some from yours. They're not late yet though..."
From her regiment? Oh, that explains why there's more than 15 here, because some of them are hers.
"You have a regiment as well?"
"Yeah, just 10, so not as many as yours. Mind you, it's quality, not quantity. I hand picked them myself, and trust them all."
"I trust your judgement then."
But it's not too long before the last remaining Pigmasks come, and everyone is seated.
"Alright, let's begin the debriefing. Rogers, Fender, pull the video screen up." she says.
"Yes, ma'am." They say with a salute. After fiddling with the controls, a video screen opens up on the side of the wall.
In the brief information I was given for this mission, I remember reading that Fassad would give out our debriefing... why did it have to be him?
"Send the transmission."
The screen lights up, and we're all graced with Fassad's visage.
"You're late." he snarls at us.
Oh, this is going to be fun... I can already tell.
"It's 09:21, sir. We're nearly 19 minutes ahead of schedule." I say.
"I don't care. I had to wait so long I thought you were late, so that's late enough." he says, shaking his head.
I open my mouth, about to respond how plainly ludicrous that is, but then I immediately shut it, because at this point, I know better than to argue with Fassad — it would just be a meaningless endeavour, and a waste of everyone's time.
"In any case," Fassad begins, chomping on a banana, "You're all here because we have located something special that we need retrieving."
"And that is?" I ask.
"The Egg of Light."
The Egg of Light? That's the egg the Pigmasks tried to retrieve from Osohe Castle, but failed to...
"That egg?" said the Colonel. "But I thought we were done with that."
"Hardly. We need that egg, and now."
"Fine. Where is the egg then?" I say.
"No idea," says Fassad, flippantly waving his hand. "Somewhere near that club all those factory workers go to, maybe."
"Club Titiboo... how in the world did the egg get all the way there from that castle?" says the Colonel.
Fassad scowls, and stops eating the banana for a second.
"As you should know, one of those villagers took the egg and got washed away by a stream or something. Must have turned up there and stashed the egg or something and then went into hiding, because nobody has seen him."
"And how do we know where the egg is?"
"A scout spotted the man who was washed away with the egg for the first in three years, and overheard them saying that something important was nearby 'in a clay thing.'"
"So, we don't even know for sure if this object in question is the Egg of Light?" I ask.
Fassad's beady eyes narrow before he starts shouting. "If I say it's the egg, then it's the egg! And if they want it, then we don't want them to get it!"
"Very well... we shall find it then."
"Good. And if you find that man, capture him, cause he'll know where it is as well."
"For the sake of everyone here who was not on that raid, including myself, what does the man in question look like?" I ask, expecting a reply from Fassad.
But my question is answered by someone else — the Colonel. "He's kind of a bum looking man, has a limp, mid 20's with brown hair."
That seems oddly familiar somehow... I can't help but get the impression I've seen that person before... at Club Titiboo, no less.
"Very well. This meeting is over. Signing off." I say, pressing a button to end the transmission before Fassad can get another word in.
Immediately, there's a heavy sigh of relief from most of the Pigmasks — I get the feeling all these meetings with Fassad end in the same way.
"Hm, I'm impressed, Commander — that's the fastest meeting we've ever had with Fassad."
That was the fastest? "Believe me when I say, it felt like an eternity. Everyone, report to the 78th floor in one hour for departure. Dismissed."
Everyone disperses, and I return back to my floor to gather a few things — my sword for one, and then wait for about an hour before heading to the floor where the Mother Porkship is.
Thankfully, everyone's there, and I see two Pigmasks working on the ship. "Fuelling's complete, Commander. You're ready for departure."
"Thank you." The two salute me before they take their leave, as we do another roll call. Everyone's here and accounted for, so... it's time to leave.
As I walk up the platform onto the Mother Porkship, I feel a certain sense of... anxiety. This is my first real mission, and a very important one at that... failure is not an option.
Miss Marsh would say that anxiety is natural, but I must not let it impair my mission. People are counting on me — Master Porky is counting on me. I will not let him down.
Finally, I see the interior of the Mother Porkship... my goodness... it's amazing! I've seen this ship many times in the outside, but this is my first time actually inside of it. The interior is similar to the Porkships — there's many control decks for flight, and for using the weapons outfitted, only the area is much more spacious.
While it would be difficult to fit more then 10 people into a single Porkship, here, over 20 of us have more than enough space in this ship — you could probably fit over 200 Pigmasks in here, and it wouldn't be uncomfortable at all.
The most interesting thing is the centre of the ship — there's a circular screen with a map and about fifty seats around it, which are colour coded with the four ranks of the Pigmasks, presumably indicating positions in which are they generally expected to sit at.
Some of the Pigmasks prepare the ship for takeoff, bumbling a little in doing so, with other taking seats in the central ring. There's a grey chair at one end, which looks noticeably more fancy then the others. I presume that must be mine.
"We have liftoff!" one of the pilots says, as the ship takes off into the sky above New Pork, before flying off to the east, flying rather quickly.
"Sir, the ship is currently at 27000 feet, on course for Club Titiboo. The estimated time of flight is approximately 3 hours."
"Good. Set the ship on autopilot and sit. Oh, and seeing as this flight will take some time, you can all remove your masks."
There's some surprise amongst the Pigmasks, but they do so — I imagine that since Fassad used this ship the most and he doesn't like to look at people's faces, that's not a luxury he gives them.
"This should be a fairly simple mission." I say. "Club Titiboo is occupied by us, though as you'll be aware, the people of Tazmily do frequent the place on occasion. Now, it would appear we're looking for a Clayman, so it seems like a simple case of a mass search, and with this many people, it shouldn't be too hard. Are there any questions so far?"
One of the majors — one of mine in fact, raises a hand so I signal for them to answer.
"Commander, what do we do if we encounter any people from Tazmily?"
Yes... that's a hard one. Technically speaking, we are their enemies, so we should be attacking on sight, however...
"Do not attack them unless they attack first. I am aware of the situation, but I see no reason to initiate any fights. Our mission is the egg — that is all." I say, hearing a few murmurs.
"Actually, there's one exception to that — the man that Fassad described as having taken the egg three years ago. In fact, Major Barrows," I say, looking at the major in question. "Check the database for any man who matches the description Fassad gave us — look for any connections with the Osohe Raid, since he was involved in that."
"Yes, sir."
"Either way, that man is dangerous — he struck first on that raid, and only he knows for certain where that egg is. If you see him, I want him captured alive." I say.
"Sir, I think I've found it. Brown hair, looks like a drunk... wait, he's some sort of thief?"
A thief? "Project it."
The central pad emits a holographic display of the man and some information about him... he looks exactly like Fassad described.
"Woah... he looks like Lucky." I hear one of the Pigmasks say.
Yes... he really does. Except for his hair, he looks pretty similar to Lucky.
"All those who went on the Osohe Raid three years ago, that's the man, right?"
There's a response in the affirmative from half the Pigmasks, as well as some muttering.
"Still remember those bombs..."
Bombs? He's carrying bombs? Then he's equally as dangerous as us...
"In any case, he's clearly dangerous, and he's likely to have others accompanying him. They will be our secondary target, should finding the egg prove to be difficult." I finish.
"Of course it's going to be difficult! We're looking for one Clayman in a place near the factory grounds!" says one Pigmask. "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack!"
"This is ridiculous! Screw Fassad! Why do we have to do this all from some dumb egg?" says another.
"Yeah, he's an idiot! Why do we all have to listen to him?!" says a third.
Before I know it, everyone's caught in the commotion and cursing Fassad, volleying insults left and right about him. Only now am I realising the vitriolic hatred everyone has towards him, though in hindsight, that seems obvious — my PSI training with him holds some of my most unpleasant memories.
Nevertheless, while I may share the sentiments, we have a mission to get on with. I slam my hand down on the table firmly enough to get everyone's attention, but not so hard as to startle them all, and everyone silences upon hearing it, looking somewhat scared at the prospect of some form of punishment.
"Enough. Fassad is an idiot, a moron, a fool and incredibly inept in general." I say, much to the surprise of everyone, who I'm guessing expected a lashing out about talking negatively of a superior. And perhaps I would... if I considered Fassad a superior anyway.
I take a deep breath before continuing. "However, if there is one thing I've learned about him, it's that he's got a habit about being annoyingly right about these kinds of things, and if we were to bail out of it and it turns out he was right, the personal satisfaction he'd gain would be so immense that none of us would be able to work again. And I refuse to give him that. Do you?"
There's a reluctant acceptance of the facts, as they can clearly see my point.
"I mean, with that being said, as long as he's not here, and you don't have any particularly important task to attend to, you have my permission to speak freely about him in any way you wish in front of me. I won't tell if you don't." I add.
There's some laughs from everyone, as well as some looks of glee — the Colonel in particular looks like she's just won the lottery.
"Back to the point though — yes, finding the Clayman in question will be hard, and it will be even harder if we can't locate any stray ones. Colonel, correct me if I'm wrong, but all the Clayman are supposed to have a chip in them, aren't they?"
"Yep, it's a microchip that lets us remotely activate and track them."
"In which case, we should be able to track them, shouldn't we?"
"Actually... I'm not sure if we have that info on the ship here. Someone check that."
One of her majors gets to that, and quickly finds the answer. "Yeah... that's a no. But... the people at one of the Clayman Factory Grounds should have a database with all that stuff."
"Contact them immediately, and tell them to send that information to us. I want the movements of every Clayman near Club Titiboo, and on the highway for good measure. Maintenance, I want two Porkships prepared for landing. Everyone else, your assigned positions. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" the Pigmasks chorus.
Everyone stands and takes their positions... that's the first time I've ever really given proper orders like this. Three years ago, and I'd have never seen myself here... and yet, here I am. On the Mother Porkship, on my first mission.
Half an hour's passed during that meeting, which still leaves a good chunk of time before we actually reach Club Titiboo. Well, I should pull my own weight on this ship. I inform the bridge that I'll be lower down and to call if I'm needed. I suppose I'll go and help with the preparation of the Porkships — I do like manual labour, and I'm good at it.
This ship's a lot bigger than I thought it would be... there's quite a few floors, but the one I'm interested in is the lowest floor. There's two areas of note here — the engine room being one of them, and the other is the docking bay where Porkships are kept on the ship, and that's where I'm heading.
When I reach there, the Pigmasks there are more than happy to let me help out, and it's enough to occupy my time. Soon enough, I hear something the Colonel's voice over the intercom.
"Commander? We need you at the bridge."
We must be there then. I quickly run back up the stairs to the bridge, where I see some of the Pigmasks staring out windows and the ship appears to have stopped.
"I take it we've arrived?" I ask her.
"Yeah, we have. Thing is, we can't land anywhere nearby."
"How come?"
"There's not enough space. Plus, the terrain's pretty rough."
Good thing I planned for this then. "The ship can be held at constant altitude, right?"
"Yep."
"Then I think I have a plan." I say, taking the intercom off her, and speaking into it. "Everyone, report to the bridge immediately."
It's only five minutes before everyone's gathered around again as I discuss the mission.
"Now, firstly, how did our request for information on the Clayman go?"
"The factory near Club Titiboo didn't have anything, but the one near Thunder Tower gave us pretty much everything we needed. We've put the information into these radars."
Wow, I was going to ask them to do something like this, but it looks like they beat me to the punch! I'm impressed.
"Excellent work, all of you."
Based on their reactions, I get the impressions that praise for good work is not something Fassad ever gives them... I guess I'll be changing that then.
"Right. There are 27 of us, but at least five people will be needed to stay and monitor the ship, though I would ideally like seven. Any volunteers?"
Around 9 or so raise their hands, so I pick the first 7 that I see.
"The rest of us will head down to the surface in two Porkships, and search the place for that Clayman."
"There'll be dozens of Clayman though." the Colonel points out.
"True, so we're looking for stationary ones, since the man clearly intended to retrieve the Egg at some point, so it can't be an active Clayman. It's likely going to be one that's isolated as well so it sticks out, though if they have a very good memory, we can't discount the Clayman in question being amongst a bunch of inactive ones."
"Still, that could take some time."
"Yes... keep an eye out for that man, or anyone who looks like they're from Tazmily. They'll be searching for the Egg as well. If you spot them, inform either myself or Colonel Rysan. Any questions?"
No one raises any objections, so I nod and stand up.
"Move out then, and masks on. Those staying behind, radio the Chimera Laboratory and inform them two Porkships will be landing there."
Twenty of us march down the stairs back to where the Porkships are kept, and in two groups, we each enter one.
The flight down is very short, as we're directly below our landing site. We quickly disembark, with some of the Pigmasks at the Chimera Laboratory coming out the door.
"Commander! What brings you here?"
"I'm afraid that information is classified. We haven't come here specifically for the lab."
"Okay...?"
"Would you mind guarding our ships?"
"Oh, em... of course, sir!"
"Thank you."
I turn to everyone else addressing them. "Okay, each of you has a radar, with the locations of all the Clayman in the general area. Again, look for isolated immobile ones."
"Sir, there's a lot of Clayman in the lab here. Should we bother searching here?" asks one Pigmask.
"Nah, there's no way that man could have gotten inside here." says the Colonel. "I'm sure they told the people working here to look out for him."
She makes a good point... and yes, while some of the Pigmasks can be incompetent, I don't think they're that incompetent... at least, I hope they're not. Still, it is possible, even if it is unlikely.
"Hm... that's true, but I can't discount the possibility. I'd like three of you to search there."
Three of them run off inside, as the rest of us take off into the forest, searching for Clayman. There's a few around here, but none of them have what we're looking for. But there is a Clayman Factory to the south here, and of course, inactive Clayman will be rather common there.
So, we head south, and after informing the Pigmasks there of our situation, we continue looking through all the Clayman, spending about half an hour doing so.
But suddenly, in the midst of going through one Clayman, I hear a loud crackling and look up quickly enough to just see a bolt of lightning strike down far off in the distance, crashing into the ground.
"What in the...?" the Colonel. says. "Why are they firing lightning bolts here?!"
"A malfunction, perhaps?"
"I thought we fixed all those problems while I was there! Must be Fassad screwing with things again.
"Wait, Fassad's at the Thunder Tower now?" I say in surprise.
"Huh? Oh yeah, he should be there anyway."
Hm... why is he there? It doesn't seem like his kind of place, nor is it where he lives... actually, where does Fassad live? I've never seen anywhere he could live in New Pork City, and I can't imagine him living anywhere near the normal Pigmasks... he'd say he's too good for that.
Then again, I do recall some floors at the Empire Porky Building that I can't access... perhaps Fassad lives on one of those?
"We'll just have be careful moving forward." I say, looking back down at the radar — wait a minute! There's a dot that just started to begin flashing brightly, but I swear it wasn't like that before...
"Colonel, have a look at this. This dot here... it wasn't this bright before, was it?"
"No... it wasn't."
"How come it's only begin flashing now then?"
"Huh... I'm not sure. I mean, that's gotta mean that Clayman's been recharged... but that's impossible in the forest!"
Yes, it should be... or is it? No... I remember a long time ago, I went to the Clayman Factory here, and helped with gathering the Clayman to be recharged. Didn't I help power one with PK Thunder? Never mind, this line of thought will get us nowhere.
"Must be some sort of anomaly. Let's continue our search... though, I do notice now that there are some Clayman to the east of Club Titiboo."
"How about I take my regiment ahead into the forest, and you continue the search here, sir?"
"Sounds as good as any plan. Good luck on your search."
As they leave, we continue our search, which is fairly fruitless... where is that Egg? I'm losing more and more hope that it's here... but where is it then, and — wait, what's this?
My transceiver begins to ring, the familiar Pigmask theme playing... what could that be for? I take it out of my pocket, holding it to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Commander..." I hear the Colonel's voice on the other end, more faint than usual. It sounds like she's moving? "We have a situation here."
"That was quick. What kind of situation?"
"We split up as part of our search, and two of my group just came back. They said they spotted the man."
"That man? They're absolutely sure of it?"
"Yeah, they say he's exactly like in that hologram. Brown hair, limp, gloomy kind of feel — it's all there. They didn't engage though, because they thought it would be too risky with only two of them."
"A wise decision."
"But that's not all — they've reported seeing two, possibly three others along with the man."
Others? Somehow, I didn't expect that, even though it makes sense.
"Did they see them?"
"Yeah, but they didn't pay as much attention, cause they were looking mostly at the man. There was also a dog, brown, pretty ordinary and a girl with pink hair."
A girl with pink hair? That... that girl at the Club... that waitress...
Wait... there's something else... didn't I... yes, I remember. The very first day, I woke up, when I met Master Porky, he showed me... a video. And... there was a pink girl in that video as well... is it possible...
"Colonel, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't a pink haired girl destroy one of our tanks once?"
"Yep... along with an old man and a monkey."
Yes... and that girl was psychic, wasn't she? And so was that waitress... we've been holding one of our enemies within Club Titiboo for three years, and no one realised.
"I think I know exactly what's going on. There's a pink haired waitress at Club Titiboo who is also psychic — I believe the meeting between the man and girl was planned."
"That does make sense... the man probably told her to come here and bide her time. But why wouldn't they make a move instantly for the Egg?"
"It would be risky, wouldn't it? The man was washed away, and we were all looking for him. He needed to hide the Egg so we wouldn't get to it, in the hopes that one day he might be able to retrieve it, so he hides in a Clayman, because... who'd ever think to look there?"
"We certainly didn't."
"Exactly. So he tells this girl to come to Club Titiboo, and asks her to search for it undercover, while he goes into hiding."
"I see... to let the commotion die down. For whatever reason, the girl couldn't find it, so the man comes back and they rejoin."
"Have this man and this girl ever worked together before?"
"Yeah... I saw them working together at Osohe myself. That explains everything... except for the dog."
Hah... I'd forgotten about that. Where did the dog come from? It couldn't be from the girl... the man? No, that doesn't seem likely.
"Oh, wait a minute, that other person!"
"Hm?"
"One of them thought they saw another person, but they couldn't be sure. Whoever it was apparently seemed a bit shorter, but they didn't more than a glimpse, so can't be sure on that."
A child then? But why would a child... no, age is no factor in this. I'm the Commander, and yet I'm the youngest person in this entire army. Age doesn't mean a thing.
"That explains where the dog came from. And they say they saw them go down some holes?"
"Yeah, in fact I'm here now. There's a bunch of holes in the ground, and it looks like they lead to this underground network or something. Probably leads out on the other side of this mountain here."
Mountains... I take a quick look at my map, and I see what she's on about. So these people, they're trying to get to the opposite side? Let's see... are there any Clayman over there?
"That's strange... there aren't any Clayman there! Apart from in the factory on that side, but there would be no one this man could get inside there to hide the Egg three years ago with his notoriety."
"Actually, that's not completely true, Commander. There is one Clayman there."
"What?" I look down and she's right — there is one, but...
"That one that's moving really fast? But it can't possibly be the one they're searching for — it would have to be a still one."
"But that's the only other thing they could be going over there for! This doesn't make any sense, not unless it just happened to reactivate..."
Yeah... none of this makes sense... I mean, Clayman can't just spontaneously reactivate in the middle of a forest, not unless they just happened to be hit by...
No. No, it can't be. What are the odds? This can't be possible... but it's not impossible.
"Colonel... I have a theory, as far fetched as it will sound. If a lightning bolt was to hit an inactive Clayman, would it be recharged?"
"Well yeah, Clayman absorb electricity and a lightning bolt would definitely have enough energy to kick start it — scratch that, it'd probably overclock it, but... the chances of that happening are ludicrous! I mean, that's like a one in a million... wait, you're not seriously saying..."
"I am. We saw a lightning bolt, didn't we, and then one of the dots became much brighter, indicating a Clayman had been recharged. What if that lightning bolt just happened to hit a Clayman, recharge it, and then it immediately bolted off? And what if that Clayman just happened to be the one with the Egg of Light, and it took off just before that man and his cohorts could retrieve the Egg?"
"That's... that's insane!"
"But that's exactly what must have happened. That's why they went through those tunnels, and why they did so incredibly quickly — because that Clayman has the Egg, and now they're chasing it down. Incredible, isn't it — we got very lucky."
"I... well, what do we do now? I guess we'll have to follow them through these holes."
"No, that could take far too long, and you could all get lost. If we knew where the Clayman would end up, we might be able to cut it off."
"Well, that's simple. All broken Clayman head to the junk heap on the Highway."
Oh... that simplifies things. "In which case, forget the holes, we'll just fly straight there."
"Not gonna work, sir. Not when the Thunder Tower's in operation and shooting lightning. That Clayman being hit was a one in a million chance, but if we're up there, our chances of getting hit are much higher. We'll get struck down for sure, and telling them to stop firing is gonna take far too long."
That's true, and being shot down isn't going to accomplish much.
"We need transport. Land transport." I say. Let's see... the Clayman Factory is on the other side of the mountain. That seems like a good bet. "Inform the bridge of our movement, then head to the Clayman Factory — they'll have some Pork Beans, and we can go straight across the highway to the junk heap. We'll either find that Clayman, or we'll find those people. Either way, we'll be much closer to finding the Egg."
"Sounds like a plan, sir. We'll be there as soon as we can. Don't bother waiting." I hang up, and turn to everyone else here.
"You heard that." I say to my group. "Let's go!"
We take off as quickly as we can back to the Chimera Laboratory and take off in our Porkship. Sure enough, it's not too long before I see the second one take off as well.
"Patch a line directly to the Clayman Factory, if you wouldn't mind." I ask the pilot.
"Yes, sir. Give me a second..."
I hear a bunch of noises at the other end — a lot of bumbling and some people muttering.
"Oh, I, yeah, Commander! What, what do you need? Sir! We gave you the information you needed! Was it helpful?"
"Very, thank you. However, we need your help again. We need to get across the Highway quickly, and Porkships aren't an option. Do you have any Pork Beans we may use?"
"Er... give me a second..."
He seems to leave and I hear a bunch of commotion in the background... I won't lie — it sounds pretty disorganised.
"So... we only have one left."
Hm... I was hoping there would be at least two, but I suppose we'll have to make do.
"In that case, do you mind preparing it for our arrival? We'll be there shortly."
"Sure, sir! Over and, er... out!"
That's sorted, and the flight shouldn't take much long — it's only about ten minutes away. But even a few minutes could cost us everything. Those people already have a good lead on us, and it's only growing. We need to get to that junk heap before they do. My only hope is that perhaps they would have gotten lost underground.
The Porkship lands, and we immediately disembark, waiting there for the other one — I can see it in the sky, faintly in the distance. It's only another minute before it lands, and the second batch of Pigmasks all come out. Once they do, the Colonel approaches me.
"Did they receive our message, sir?"
"They did. There is one Pork Bean here we can use."
"Only one? Only... four, maybe five of us could fit into one though."
"Yes, they seem to be running short for whatever reason. Did the bridge receive your message?"
"Yep, they've got it. They're ready to move whenever we need."
"Good. Let's not waste any time."
The twenty of us enter the factory, which gets some heads turning — two Pigmask Captains immediately run towards us in shock.
"Ah! Commander?! What... what are you doing here?!"
What am I doing here? What? I... they did get my message, didn't they? I said I'd be coming here...
"I'm sorry? I... I informed one of you all that I'd be coming. Did they not pass the message?"
"No, I told them all, but..." says one Pigmask — I recognise his voice. He must be the one I spoke to earlier.
"Erm... hold on, sir, do you mind waiting while we get the boss?" he says.
There seems to be some sort of confusion... I have no idea why, but I guess that would probably be best.
"Please do." I say.
The two Pigmasks bolt off inside the factory, leaving the twenty of us alone.
"Commander, what's going on?" the Colonel asks.
"I... have absolutely no idea. I'm not going insane, am I? I definitely rang up and told these guys we'd be coming here, didn't I?" I ask my group.
"Yeah!" says one.
"You definitely did, sir!" says another.
"I remember that guy's voice." says a third.
"Okay, good. Good. I'm not going crazy... not yet..." I mutter.
"There's been some kind of misunderstanding then."
But in the distance, I can hear some footsteps, and the two Pigmask Captains along with a Pigmask Colonel round the corner, the latter of whom almost jumps back in fright as well.
"Commander?! So... you guys weren't kidding!"
"Why would we lie about this?" one asks.
"Well... so, Commander... why are you back? And you seem to have a lot of more people with you."
Wait, wait, wait, back?! I'm sorry, why am I back? I never came here!
I... I'm so dumbfounded that I can't even voice anything, and it's the Colonel who does so instead.
"Back?! But... we never got here!" she says.
"But... half an hour ago, you just left! You came, like you said you would, asked if we'd seen a runaway Clayman, and then you took... oh no..." he says, sounding horrified, as if he's come to some kind of dreadful realisation.
What... I...
There's only a single thing that can accurately describe what's going through my mind at the point. And that's what I decide to voice.
"What the hell is going on here?"
A/N: So yeah, now we're actually in familiar territory, since the rest of this fic will be what the Masked Man was doing through Chapters 5-8. I must admit, I had always been confused regarding what the Masked Man was doing in Chapter 5, but then I remembered the Egg of Light existed. So I thought, what if the Masked Man was trying to find it as well?
Apart from the Masked Man himself though, the main character of interest would be his second in command. And you might be wondering what's up with her. Well, I generally don't like using OCs, but Colonel Rysan is... technically not an OC?
I say technically, because I have based her off an actual Pigmask in Mother 3 — she is supposed to be the Pigmask Colonel seen with the Masked Man at the beginning of Chapter 7, and at the 6th Needle. Mind you, the Pigmask Colonel in question didn't have a name or a personality, so... I dunno, it's up to you whether she's an OC of not.
Next time, Claus pursues the imposters and the Clayman across the Highway.